Ayla Rose by Bonnie Blue Designs in Cotton Seersucker

Ayla Rose by Bonnie Blue Designs

There was an abundance of summer florals in my stash, so I planned to whip up a few simple summer dresses for my daughter.  This is one of them.......

Pattern:

Ayla Rose by Bonnie Blue Designs is a very quick and easy pattern to construct.  Janis Shelton gives great directions for a narrow hem.  The back placket directions were different from ones I had constructed before, but following the directions and pictures will keep you on track.  

The dress is very cute on a young girl.  I used a size 8 and my 9 year old daughter has plenty of growing room.  This pattern would be appropriate in a fancy fabric.   The layered skirts have a wonderful drape.

Fabric:

White floral cotton seersucker from Fabric Finders.  Pink piping from Children's Corner.  Flower done using Kari Mecca's Whimsy Sticks and satin ribbon.

Whimsy Stick flower

Ayla Rose in Fabric Finders floral seersucker

Snap instead of button over ribbon

Summer "Josie Dress" from Girl's World

Josie Dress from Girl's World by Jennifer Paganelli

Fun summer sewing has been in full swing around my house.  Simple and cool are on the menu!

Pattern:

Josie's Dress from Girl's World book by Jennifer Paganelli

I have made this dress before and loved it!

It is simple to construct and girls love it.

I made a medium (6/7) size in width and a large (8/10) in length.

Fits like a glove!

Fabric:

Pillow & Maxfield's Ooh La La pink border print

Construction Notes:

I followed the pattern directions for the dress.

The beautiful border print went all the way to the selvedge of the fabric.  Hemming it would take up some of the print that was the highlight of the dress.  So, I sewed a 4 inch band of fabric that matched the dress and made a "hem band."  This kept my nice border print for all to see.

Bodice of Josie Dress

Back view of Josie Dress

How to hem border print? Use a hem band.

Ruffle Knit Emily from Maja's Heirlooms

Emily from Maja's Heirlooms done in ruffle knit.

Don't tell my daughter she has this dress on backwards.  She didn't believe me this morning that it went the other way.  Oh well, she is happy.

Fabric:

Tie-dye ruffle knit from Sewitup.com.  I bought it last year when I visited the store in Dallas.  The binding is a medium weight pink linen.  ( I sure wish I had purchased a few yards of this linen, it is wonderful fabric.)

Pattern:

I happen to be making a smocked version of Emily by Maja's Heirloom Treasures last week.  As I was finishing the sewing, I thought I might be able to use the pattern for a simple sundress with the ruffle knit.  It worked wonderfully.

The front was cut by merging the bodice and skirt as one piece.  The back was cut in the same way, but I also merged the back centerline and didn't include the opening in the back.  

Construction:

The side seams of the ruffle knit were lined up exactly and pinned.  Then I used a 4 thread serger stitch.  The pink binding was added with the sewing machine.  I did make sure that the linen was always on the feed dogs, so I didn't get any crazy stretching.  This little dress took about an hour to make!

Emily from Maja's Heirlooms

Front detail on Emily sundress

Badminton Dress by Oliver+S

Badminton Dress by Oliver+S

Pattern:

I have had this adorable pattern in my stash for awhile and finally got around to using it.  This is a size 10 and it fits well (normally a 10 will swallow my daughter).  Easy to follow directions make construction straightforward.  One must be in a patient mood to work on the neckline and flutter sleeves.  They go together perfectly, if you are sewing perfectly.  The scallop hem looks time consuming, but went together in a snap.  This is a great pattern for summertime.

Fabric:

The green floral is a Moda print from my stash.  The red is a shirt weight solid.  

Badminton Dress by Oliver+S

Happy 4th of July

I whipped up two garments for the 4th of July celebration.

McCalls' M6550 altered

Girl's Dress

Pattern:  McCall's M6550 - This pattern is for woven fabric, but I used a knit.  It is just a little big, so I should have gone down a size.  I wanted the neckline to be square, so I altered the pattern.  I added navy blue knit as the trim around the openings.  I also took out the fullness (gathers) in the front skirt.  

Maybe I should say, I started with M6550 and then drafted my own pattern.  

Simplicity 1916

Knit Top

Pattern:  Simplicity 1916 - I have used this pattern before and altered it to fit well.  See here.

Fabric for both

Chez Ami cotton jersey print.  I loved this print so I grabbed enough for two projects when it went on sale.

Red, White, and Blue Chez Ami Jersey Knit Fabric

Happy 4th of July!

Enjoy the 4th of July!