Saturday 12 April 2014

KCW Spring (Autumn!) 2014: Days 5&6

After making so many pairs of Playtime leggings it was time to make the dress!


I'd read in the Oliver + S forums that the dress tends to run a bit large, so I chose a size 2 width with size 3 length. The fabric is a stretch cotton poplin from The Fabric Store.

The dress has a really cute faux collar done with topstitching. I used Heidi's trick (seen here) and used two threads through the same needle to get enough oomph for the topstitching.


The topstitching continues around the back and down the placket:


And the in-seam pockets are also outlined with topstitching.

What pockets Mum? I can't find them!
Oh, there they are!
Found them!! Look mum!
Perhaps inseam pockets on a three-year-old's dress aren't such a good idea after all!

My casual approach to fabric cutting has continued (those Weekend Getaway blouses bled me of all cutting patience) and I realised after cutting this dress that the little flowers are probably upside down. Unless of course they're hanging from a vine. That would do as an answer should the kids pick up on my error.

Odd that the only dress this week not to get a matching pair of Playtime leggings was the Playtime dress itself. But it does get a matching cardigan:


This is pattern "j" from Let's Go Out Girl's Clothes. I found the fabric by chance as I walked past a big, city fabric store that was closing down and everything was half price. I didn't know what the fabric was and it was a bit thin for this jacket. It was priced at $30/metre and felt like wool, I guessed the price probably suggested wool. I bought one metre for $15 and then went home and threw it in the wash. That confirmed it was definitely wool as it came out of the wash half the size and twice as thick! It wasn't intentional, I'm just a very lazy laundry person and so I pre-treat fabrics as I intend to treat them for the rest of their lives (which can be very short obviously!). Anyway, now it was perfectly thick for a little jacket!


The pattern is super simple; a set in sleeve, and then the binding around the neckline that becomes the ties. The pattern showed a neat illustration for sewing a gathering stitch inside the front curved seam allowance to help turn the hem nicely. This could be my first "miss' of the week as it was worn happily for pictures but then taken off. The dress however, was declared to be "perfect for a ballet mum to take her ballet kids to ballet school"

...and off she went with a Puffin and a Pig in a pram!

22 comments:

  1. This is gorgeous! And I love the jacket. Force her to wear it! The censored shot is fantastic. I wound up with a similar undies shot while trying to get pictures of R in her kids clothes week skirt - and of course it's her favourite photo EVER.

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    1. Nothing funnier than flashing your undies hey!
      When the weather gets cold she will be forced to wear the jacket as not much else in the jumper drawer fits anymore!

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  2. Ditto on the jacket, love it.
    Great dress super fun and wearable.

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  3. teehee! i love the censored shot. and the dress is adorable! i've only made a "gussied up" version of the playtime dress for film petit, but i want to make it straight now, looks like such a great everyday dress.

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    1. Thanks Kristin. It is a lovely everyday dress, but now I want a glue gun and some pearls to make a fancy one! (and I guess I'd need some sequin glue gunned undies to match!)

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  4. All of it is beautiful. I love the Playtime pattern and this is a great version!

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  5. This is great! I love the cardigan paired with it too! What a gorgeous color and perfectly fallish!

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    1. Thank you Rachel. I think I inadvertently went on trend with this year's Pantone colour. I never know about these things but did it accidently last year with an emerald green dress too.

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  6. Super cute! Love the jacket--the colour is just gorgeous! Sooooo funny with the hands in pockets flashing.

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    1. Thank you. P and I were already in stitches watching her trying to find the pockets...

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  7. this is such a sweet dress... love that fabric!

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  8. Hysterical! The dress is beautiful and your little girl is such a beauty!

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    1. Thanks Nicole. She needs a haircut for practicality's sake but I love that soft, dangly fringe!

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  9. The censored photo is too hilarious. And the top-stitching looks wonderful. I made the leggings from this pattern for my son for his Halloween costume but I haven't tried the dress yet. Your dress is inspiring. I love the cardigan too.

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    1. I have to thank Heidi for the topstitching trick. Much easier (and cheaper) than using topstitching thread. I've even managed to thread three strands of thread through one needle. The dress is a lovely sew, only the underarm seams require a bit of careful snipping to lie smoothly.

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  10. Hahahaha! Love that censored shot! I never thought of that very handy use for in seam pockets! Obviously! The fit of the dress looks perfect and I love it paired with the cardigan. In the meantime, you might want to make some leggings to match this, in case the "flasher" activity continues ... :-)

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    1. So long as I remember to check she's wearing undies before we leave the house I figure I'm ahead! (how anyone can forget they took their underpants off or where they put them is beyond me!)

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  11. Your little one makes me smile:) She looks like she would be a ton of fun to hang out with! The dress is just adorable - the fit you chose looks perfect on her. I love what you did with the accentuated stitching.

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    1. She is pretty amusing (except when she's being infuriating!). The second last photo is actually one of my favourites as my husband gets that exact same look when he's about to say something hilarious

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