today i’m happy to be joining the Cottage Mama Patterns Blog Tour to help launch Lindsay’s newest line of patterns. i chose to sew the sweet Georgia Vintage Dress.
the Georgia Vintage Dress is a classic collared-and-sashed dress available in sizes 6m to 10 years, with loads of options – there’s a flutter sleeve, contrast bib, overskirt, piping, all sorts of ways to customize and play with fabric and make it your own. i made a sleeveless View D – my dress has the bib (I wanted to add piping!) but it’s made out of the main fabric. i wanted to take a very vintage-style dress and make it look sleek and modern.
the biggest challenge (fun challenge) that i had, and why i signed up for the tour in the first place, is because Lindsay’s style and mine differ quite a bit, and i wanted to try something new! it’s fun to stretch and grow, and i wanted make a Cottage Mama dress that also looked like my style. while this dress is “fancier” than most of Em’s everyday dresses, i really love it…and because this girl loooooves fancy, she loves it too!
the fabric is Twinkle Twinkle in Teal from Constellations by Lizzy House, probably one of my favorite lines EVER, which, until now, i’ve mostly hoarded. i probably got mine at Bolt, but it might’ve been Fabric Depot. i paired it with a moda bella light robin’s egg blue for the flat piping and kona white for the collar and sash, and added moon buttons…
well you can’t really tell, but the buttons have sort of a swirly tan inlay and look like moons. trust me.
i made a 3T bodice but cut the skirt between the 4T and 5T length (17.5″) because Em seems to be shooting up in height lately. she actually ate an entire (home-grilled) cheeseburger for dinner last night, which she has never done before in her life, so i think a growth spurt is happening. i also cut the skirt a bit wider, as two panels 40″ wide each, because i wanted it pleeeeenty twirly.
it was my first Cottage Mama pattern and it was really good. i learned some new techniques i’ll have to use again (how the bib and sash are constructed, the shape of the collar – it’s cool stuff). one note – i THINK the chest measurement on the size chart might actually be the finished measurement, but Lindsay’s checking into it. the chart would’ve had me sew an 18m/2T bodice but I cut the 3T anyway and it fits great, just the right amount of growing room. didn’t want to make that bodice too small!
oh i also left the ends of the sash square, just thought it’d look nice with the collar shape. she’s wearing a pettiskirt (this skirt) underneath this dress, and some “twirling shorts” too.
check out the Georgia Vintage Dress and ALL of Lindsay’s patterns in her shop, it’s been a fun blog tour so far! i especially love Caila’s polka dot version of the Miss Matilda Dress and Stef’s kitty cat version of the Daphne Wrap Dress!
not sure if she’s doing ballerina hands or praying here…
thanks so much for having me along on the tour, Lindsay!
DISCLOSURE: i was given the Georgia Vintage Dress pattern for free as a part of the blog tour. my opinions are my own!
skirt as top 
oh my goodness I LOVE it!!! 🙂 V just had her star dress on yesterday….yay for star dresses! this pattern looks adorable.
Thank you Jane! I definitely thought of your star dress as I sewed. I’m not so good with embroidery though..I love that touch you added! 🙂
This is great! A lot of blogs I follow are participating in this tour, but I think yours is my favorite! I’d wear that myself!!
I literally just smiled when I saw your first photo of her in this dress! So, so, so pretty. I just love it! (I always like to play a game with myself when I read your blogs. It’s called, “Where in the World is E. Sandiego?” Most of the time, I think I am guessing right, but this time, I have no idea. Email me, maybe?)
It was outside Fabric Depot! I coulda sworn the building was gray and it would be “space-like,” but it was brownish. Ah well. 😉
This is so gorgeous! It looks very expensive (project runway talk :))! Probably gonna have to add this pattern to my wishlist!
previous comment by Caroline
this dress is awesome! i’m loving cottage-mama-meets-skirt-as-top! 🙂 it’s really fun to see em in that shade of blue, too. love it!!
I think you pulled it off! The perfect blend of Skirt as Top with Cottage Mama. That fabric is perfect for bringing the dress into modern. It’s really striking – love it!!
thanks so much, stef! i thought long and hard about that fabric and which options to sew, wayyyy overanalyzed it. 😉
Absolutely beautiful and I love blue and white together! The mix of modern style with the very vintage-y elements is perfect. Very much a twirling dress! 🙂
Love it! That fabric is so much fun and I’m really liking the details – especially the collar.
thank you! i love that collar too, such a cool shape.
Oh, it’s got great twirl 🙂
Super cute, Kristin! I chose to sew the Georgia dress too. I love your modern take.
Ahh! This is just perfection!!!
So gorgeous, Kristin! Em’s exuberance is just infectious, too – love her poses! I also adore the vintage vibe of the style and adding extra twirlability definitely makes the dress super special 🙂
This dress is so cute! Really love the choices you made – the pattern, the fabric, the piping and the square ended sash. So fun! And as always, I love all the pics with your dancing model! Does she like the dress? Even though it’s blue? Her shoes match so perfectly too!
Oh my gosh! love it so much! perfect!
Love the twirli-ness of this pattern!! The square of the bow in the back and collar is great, good choice. She looks like she love it, which always makes for the perfect end to a sewing project, no? 🙂
This is just BEAUTIFUL! The blue & the white is so striking & crisp looking!
I love your modern take on this pattern! So cute
Oh, Kristin! This is crazy cute. The print is so fun and I love the little touches that make it your style. It’s just perfect 🙂
Looks so pretty and passes the twirly test.
This better not float across clover’s eyes or she’ll definitely want one too! So cute! I love how you used the piecing to just add the gorgeous piping, and didnt mix up fabrics too. When you have the option of throwing more stuff in there it’s hard to have reserve.
I’m totally impressed with her eating a whole burger! Too bad we can’t get clover to do that. Or even come to the dinner table, for that matter.
very sweet and so euro! i love it! i love those big collars! i made one for Iris and at first i thought it might be too big. but i love it now. we were out to eat this week and she looked so cute with that big collar. i kept taking photos of her with my phone. they’re always low-res and crappy but i simply couldn’t resist. i’ll bet you’ll want to do that same with this dress! 🙂
This is just awesome, I love everything about it! I struggle a bit with little girl dresses-I want them to look modern and cool but they seem to end up looking to cutesy for my taste. If I wasn’t on a fabric fast I would be buying some of this twinkle fabric right now!! 🙂
Oh man, I almost died when I saw this. Those stars, omg! perfect for em, perfect for you. Love it!
Gorgeous Kristin!! It looks like such a fun dress for little girls to wear:)
This looks like such a fun dress! I’ll bet your daughter just loves it! I know mine would! 🙂
what a coincidence! as one of the KCW volunteer editors I was asked to upload all Lindsay’s patterns to the site. although my personal style leans more towards the Japanese aesthetic, I was intrigued by her patterns and could see that a lot of detail was put into their construction. They sound like great patterns, and I’m excited for her that this blog tour is giving her patterns some attention. I love the fabric you chose for your pattern – and the twirly factor is clearly a winner in Em’s book:) I also like the crisp and modern look you gave it – beautiful job!
This is über darling! Great version of this dress.
So cute! I love your take on this lovely dress pattern!