Leaf-Print Fall Dresses

  I was in the middle of sewing a dress for my friend last week, in the middle of baking pies for Thanksgiving, and for some reason I can't remember, I decided that both girls NEEDED new dresses for Thanksgiving. Also, in the midst of my enthusiasm, I couldn't just use plain fabric... it had to be leaf-printed. So I pulled out some knit scraps, a leaf stamp, and some paint. Amazingly, I managed to finish both dresses without staying up past midnight! =)

  I used Rae's free Itty Bitty Baby Dress Pattern in the toddler size for Booper, and downsized it a little for Gaiw (although I didn't downsize it quite enough, width-wise).

  I wanted the fabric to have a natural fall leaf look to it, so I started off with cups of acrylic paint mixed with a fabric medium in a few different colors: a green (that I mixed myself), crimson red, yellow ochre, and vermillion.

  For each leaf, I would lay the stamp out, face up (The stamp is from Hobby Lobby... it came in a set with several other leaf shapes and has a cling backing):

  And brush on a thin layer of a couple colors:

In this picture... vermillion and a touch of crimson

 Then I would flip the stamp over, press it firmly on the fabric:

 And voila!

Okay, so I didn't press firmly enough on this leaf, but you get the idea, right?

  Every leaf is unique, and I love that. I didn't worry about brushstrokes either; I felt like they just added to the natural feel. I do wish my green had been a little... greener. Less blue.

  Also, I think it would have been better if I had cut the pattern pieces first, and stamped second, because now I have odd-sized scraps of printed knit that I have no idea what I want to use for. It would have meant a lot less stamping too. =)

  I used a thrifted knit skirt for the brown contrast... I didn't actually make piping with it since I wanted to keep the stretch, so the waist section is just a 1.5 inch wide piece, folded in half and sewn in in the seam.

I love that I caught Gaiw pointing in the back of this picture. =)

 

  I am super-happy with how these turned out... the print came out just how I had imagined it! And I am very happy that I finished these up in time, and the littles got to wear their new dresses at a lovely Thanksgiving dinner. =)

Thanks for stopping by!

 

PS: If you have never tucked a bit of Nutella in some pie crust dough, baked it, and ate it, you have missed a delicious piece of life. Try it!

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