Dresses for the Girls

We’ve had a lot going on around here lately with the end of the school year. Lots of fun events…….piano recitals, dance recitals, open house, ABC countdown, Daddy-Daughter Dance, etc. The end of the year always seems to bring so many fun events! The girls recently attended their school’s Daddy-Daughter Dance. It was their first time since our other school didn’t offer this type of event. They loved it. Luckily for these two ladies, we just picked something off the Cottage Mama rack. The sample rack is currently overflowing up in our attic. It’s always fun for me to see what each girl gravitates towards. Even though they are only 16 months apart, they couldn’t be more different!

Savannah chose a dress I made for her 4 years ago. Can you believe it still fits? If you’ve been a reader for a long time, you might remember it from Savannah’s ‘Orange‘ themed birthday party (check out that party HERE). The dress was originally a longer tea length and she has only grown up and not out, so it still looked so sweet on her.

This was a McCall’s pattern that I adapted. Being a designer, myself, I can’t ever stick to a pattern exactly. I added piping, trim and embellishments to the pattern. As well as a slight alteration in the bodice fit. The fabric is in a line from many years ago, Sandi Henderson’s ‘Meadowsweet’ for Michael Miller Fabrics.

I created a pin with some layered rolled roses and some curled grosgrain ribbons. Rather than sewing the embellishment directly to the dress, I hot glued them to a felt back and created sort of a pin/broach. I wanted to be able to remove the embellishment prior to washing so the curly ribbons didn’t get messed up and the roses didn’t fray too much. It’s hard to tell in the picture, but there is a clear glass button in the middle of the broach on one of the flowers.

This dress has MAJOR twirl factor. Miss S. loved twirling in this dress 4 years ago and she loves twirling in it now. As girls, I don’t think we ever lose that love of twirling. Am I right?

Miss Matilda picked out a dress that was created for my booth for Quilt Market several years ago (you can check out my booth HERE). This is my Charlotte Apron Dress Pattern (available in paper and PDF) and was sewn in Sarah Jane Studios ‘Wee Wander‘ for Michael Miller Fabrics. I love these colors on her.

The apron on the Charlotte Apron Dress Pattern can be embellished in so many different ways. It’s a great spot to add trim and personalization. The apron here has a jar of fireflies that were created using a machine applique design. The pattern includes a hand applique tea pot, but the options are endless when it comes to this sweet pattern.

The Charlotte Apron Dress Pattern is a little more casual since it doesn’t have a bow sash, but you could certainly add one if you wanted to give it a little more formality. It would be really easy to do. You could do a full sash or just do one that starts at the sides.

And here are the girls with Daddy. I think he must have had two of the sweetest dates around. The girls felt so special when they got a corsage from Daddy at the dance. So sweet, I can hardly stand it! What a fun memory for all of them!

And last, but not least, I have to share a picture of our sweet little princess who is already 19 months! I seriously can’t believe it. I took this picture of her a few days ago. Josephine (or JoJo) is just blossoming into such a fun little girl. She has a wonderful personality and I enjoy her so much at this stage. She is certainly busy, climbing up onto everything, but she is funny, sweet and so playful.

How did I end up so lucky to have these three beautiful little girls? We are blessed and I feel SO grateful. Mr. Caspian wanted nothing to do with his sisters Daddy-Daughter dance pictures, so I’ll have to share some more about that guy soon. Thank goodness he adds some cars, trains and wild boy fun into this mix of girly girls!

Thanks for stopping by and until next time……

Happy Sewing!