All Dressed Up

LEB has a favorite dress. It was a hand-me-down from big sister, Miss Kinder, who got it from her Grammy three or four years ago. It came from Hanna Anderson, and has been through a million washings, spaghetti massacres, and off season wearings. Though meant to be a summer dress, LEB prefers to wear it year-round, baring her arms all through the Maine winter. The most often heard question in LEB's presence is, "Aren't you cold?" to which she proudly replies, "No! I'm a beautiful princess ballerina!" 

Because she loves to dance and twirl in this dress, as well as go bowling and sleep in it, I knew I couldn't cut it up to make a pattern. Since it was only four pieces, I took my chances by tracing it the best I could onto newspaper in an effort to recreate it in a new fabric. 

Once again, Alewives to the rescue with a lovely peacock-like print in a 

light corduroy. I used some light blue bias tape for the hem and took my time, knowing that my beginner sewing skills would be tested. And, ta da! --

She decided that the Camper shoes were the best accessory for this outfit, and has worn them more in the last 48 hours than I have since we left NYC for Maine. It's hard to think of where I might wear these shoes here in Belfast. Perhaps to the theatre?

Lessons learned: I think the seams aren't super strong, and I need to look up how to make them stronger. Also, the dress I used as a template had two buttons in the back and I have no idea how to do that, so I cut a simple V in the back and BARELY got it over her head. I should probably think about how to do some type of closure, or my dresses are going to be pretty limited. Considering that LEB can wear a dress for three days straight, including sleeping in it, what if she has a growth spurt and her head grows so much that the dress won't come off!?