hi! today i’m joining Rae on her It’s a Small World (blog tour) After All with this sweet (and sour, hence the pucker?) little lemon drop dress for E!
oh man you guys, such cute fabric. i love it. and judging by the fact that i could barely get her to hold still for these photos, i know E loves it too. it’s just so bright and happy! i mean, check out this air!
the fabric is “lemon drop” from Rae’s new line of baby wale corduroy for Cloud9 Fabrics, called Small World. organic corduroy! it’s soft and vibrant and pretty much the perfect fabric for a little sleeveless shift dress, which came to mind right away when Rae asked me to be a part of the tour.
i was heavily inspired by this dress by mini Boden and wanted to achieve the same type of look. i had to do some pattern finagling to make it happen, but i’m pretty happy with how it turned out.
i started with the Oliver + S Book Report Dress, a pattern i’ve had in my stash for a while but had never sewn. i made some alterations to get closer to my inspiration design and took photos of the process to either share here or over at Oliver + S sometime in the future, so keep an eye open for that.
here’s the quick rundown: i merged the bodice and skirt pattern pieces into just a front and back, made it sleeveless, added side seam pockets, and drafted a hem facing. quite a few changes on a pattern i’d never sewn and it definitely felt like a risk, but it turned out just as i’d hoped it would! phew!
i left the neckline as-is, maintaining the pleats and the tiny button loops. the shirttail hem is pretty great too, and i think the facing helps accentuate it.
i added topstitching (instead of under stitching) and just bound the armholes with bias tape; they got a bit puckery because i used quilting cotton double fold bias and it’s pretty thick, but it’s one of those things that’s more noticeable in blog photos than in person.
i sewed a size 5 which fits great everywhere, though she’s at the top of the height range for the size.
this type of dress is so great for layering over long sleeves/leggings when it’s cooler outside, or with shorts as shown. i like to make full skirts a bit longer for extra growing time, but a shift dress like this actually seems better shorter so it doesn’t restrict her movement – she can run and climb and dance and do her normal awesome kid stuff in it, which is really the most important thing to me.
E has gotten fearless about heights and has learned to trust her own strength. it makes me so proud to see her skipping monkey bars at the playground and scaling a tree in seconds.
she never just walks – she bounces, skips, runs…or leaps!
look for Small World in your local fabric shop (online or in person) this spring! If you need any further convincing of its awesomeness, keep an eye on Made by Rae this week where she’ll be linking to all sorts of adorable projects on the tour. hey Rae! thanks for having me along! 🙂
now you’ve got to check out my buddy and cross-country blog tourmate Tara’s super cute pants for her little Hawthorne over at girl like the sea! that kid slays me every time. it’s just ridiculous.
skirt as top 
Oh I just love her energy! She so obviously loves the dress. I kinda want a dress like this in my size- that back yoke + pleat is perfection!
This entire fabric line screams “Mini Boden” to me, and I absolutely LOVE what you did with the Book Report Dress (a pattern we’ve never sewn)! I’m looking forward to your tutorial!
Kristin it’s so cute!! I’ve always loved those Boden dresses and thought I would copy them for my girls someday…Rae’s fabric is perfect!
Cutest. Dress. Ever!!! Love your changes, and yep, a shift dres is perfect for this print!
All those jumping and climbing pics are the best!
soooooo cute! You nailed the mini boden dress. I love all the details.
Super cuteness!! Corduroy is my fave!!!
I love this, Kristin. I wish it was a pattern all its own! Your hard work definitely paid off.
This is such a great collection. I am not normally a pink fan, but this print is so great with the lemons. It’s so fresh and summery without being overly saccharine. I love it!
Beautiful!! This dress is perfection! I love that fabric so much and your sweetie looks like a bubble of joy in this dress!
Wow, great dress! That fabric is pretty rad, and makes me (yet again) wish I had girls to sew for!
It worked perfectly! The detail in the neckline is just enough and the rest of the shape suits the fabric so much. A very happy dress and what a gorgeous bouncy thing E is! 🙂
leapin’ lemons!! such a happy, beautiful print, and i love what you did with the book report dress. a very good pairing, indeed!!
Oh, this is cute! I love the shift dress for kiddos, nice job on the pattern alterations. Clearly your daughter approves!
I have that pattern, and can’t wait to try to alter it like you did!
I love the Book Report pattern (I got hooked the first time I sewed it) and this shift version is such a great option for layering!
This fabric line is perfect for girl’s dresses – it does screams Mini Boden (and obviously, what’s not to love?).
Ha, that’s exactly the mini Boden dress I thought of when I saw Rae’s new fabric. I am planning on making my own, too. I predict we’ll be seeing a lot of Boden knock-offs floating around the sewing blogs! 🙂 This looks great!
oh my goodness!! it worked in an absolutely perfect way!!!! love this so much, it’s such a happy and comfy looking dress! Heck, I’d totally wear it myself! 😉
So cute and looks perfect for playing! What a great use of fabric and that pattern. We have the Mini Boden dress in a different print and I’ve spent a good bit of timing examining the construction methods 🙂 It’s go some fancy lining and facing pieces that I’m still trying to figure out.
I love it! The faced curved hem is perfect.
You are so clever! I have ripped out that dress from the MiniBoden catalog waiting for inspiration to strike (or find a similar pattern!) and lo and behold – you’ve done it! I’m super excited about your tutorial someday – modifications are so great. Miss E seems to be loving it as well – so glad it was a hit with her:)