Stripes and Florals Dress

Foof turned 2 in September. I usually make tiered skirts for my girls' second birthdays, but Foof was much more interested in wearing dresses at that point. She had a hooded dress that she particularly loved, but that was getting a bit short on her, so I decided to go that route!

  I had recently acquired some BOLT knit from Girl Charlee, at what I thought was an amazing price, considering how often I'd heard it compared to Art Gallery knits, and I loved the way the floral and stripes looked together. 

  I was quite disappointed in the quality of the fabric, however. The print felt stiff and rough, the fabric didn't have a lot of recovery, or as much stretch as an AG knit, and for some reason the stitches kept breaking. That almost never happens on the knit garments I sew, so I'm blaming the fabric. The fabrics faded significantly with regular washing, and the print crocked... even when sewing it! You can easily see where the needles went through the fabric because the color pulled away:

  But, I didn't like my other already-available options for a fall dress, so I went ahead with these fabrics. I made a basic bodice, sleeves, a hood, and a circle skirt from the floral, then added details with the stripes, including a self-drafted kangaroo pocket, whose openings I banded with a stripe of the blue.

  I wish I'd made the kangaroo pocket openings just a bit bigger, but Foof loved it!

  Actually, I felt like I should have made the whole dress a little bit bigger... I'd meant for it to have a slightly more relaxed fit. 

  I twin-needled the hem of the ruffle- ruffles on circle skirts are huge, and this one was no exception, even thought it's barely gathered!

  I love the ruffle around the hood! Next time I would widen it the neckline just a bit- maybe 3/8"?

  Foof has worn this dress oodles of times since I made it! I've had to repair it several times due to the aforementioned 'stitches breaking' issue, but she loves it!

  This little girl is certainly adored around here!

  Most of the time she is eager to please, and willing to listen. But there's also the side of her that angrily declares, "You da baddest mama in da whole world!" when she doesn't get her way!

  Foof is a clever little girl, who loves to repeat the large words that she hears, such as 'congregation', and who watches everything her sisters do intently. She loves to mimic them!

  Because she's always copying her sisters, she's surprisingly strong!

  She can climb onto all kinds of things that I wouldn't expect her to be able to... and can usually get back down safely, too!

  Foof loves cuddles, and often asks me if she can snuggle with her big sisters before going to bed.

 She's still very much a mama's girl, and rarely leaves my arms when we aren't home.

  With all of the doting she receives, it's a wonder she's not totally spoiled!

  In addition to making her dress, I made cupcakes. I tried frosting them to look like roses- which was much more difficult than all of those Instagram videos made it look! ;-) I can never seem to nail to balance between 'too soft' and 'not soft enough' with frosting. But I ended up with a few good ones!

Thanks for stopping by,