Deer and Fox

I made these dresses this April and May at my sister's Kayli behest.  If you would like to see the rest of her photos, they are here. 

Kayli gave me two pictures and the colors for her dresses.   I think they are the best quality I have ever sewn.  Of course the patterns I based them on are amazing Oliver+S patterns, which really, you can't go wrong with. They're both linen/cotton blends with a batiste lining.


 I used the Family Reunion dress pattern for Ethne's and changed it per Kayli's request.  This was actually the hardest part because I had to draft out the pintucks in the front. And I added a lining to Ethne's because the yellow linen/cotton fabric was pretty sheer.  Kayli wanted the bib front less ruffley too.

With Hazel's dress the only changes I made were to add the trim to the collar.  It was the Fairy Tale dress pattern.  And then I changed the gathers to pleats. There's one pleat on each side of the zipper on the back too. I kept the layer of tulle underneath and I like the fullness that gives.  The original picture is a $208 dress from a boutique in London.  I think I nailed it.  :)    Oh, and in case anyone else is scared to death of choosing a size (I was--Kayli lives in Switzerland so trying the dresses on the girls was a no-go), I made a size 4 for Ethne, and she's 6, and I made a size 6 for Hazel who is almost 9.  And that's that.

They really were fun to sew, just not the part where I was on a deadline and had an unexpected lap chole, and then I was up sewing two days later trying to finish these.  Good times.  Well, not really.  But well worth it anyway.