Bakercourt - Knitting, Sewing, Crafting.: dress

Granny Square Crochet Baby Dress

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Another baby birthday, another dress ... but this time it was for the birthday girl, not the baba.

I made the Granny Square Crochet Baby Dress (pattern here), which turned out rather nicely.

The bodice is made up of crocheted granny squares and treble crochet rows, and the skirt is a cotton fabric attached to the hem of the crocheted bodice.

I used Sirdar Simply Recycled Aran in teal for the bodice - I loved working with this yarn! It has such a nice feel about it. The skirt is a Fabric Freedom music note print.

I followed the pattern and made up 8 squares, but only needed 7 as the squares were a bit bigger in the aran yarn.

I made some changes to the pattern because the neckline was just far too high. It would be fine for an older child, but definitely not a crawling and toddling toddler. I lowered the neckline by one row and added two simple straps that fasten at the back with buttons.

I also added a ribbon around the waist to draw in the bodice in case it was too big. I liked the pattern, but I think that the crochet bit could be a bit shorter. This could make a really nice top for a bigger girl - or mama!

dress

Geranium Dress, The Second

Thursday, June 04, 2015

It's been a while since I've blogged - and it seems like even longer since I've been sewing/crafting/making. I got a bit carried away in deadlines and other unfun things.

Still, there was a bit of time to make another Geranium Dress. This time, for Bellie Boo - a friend's daughter who needed a pretty frock for a Christening Party.

I made the gathered skirt version with ruffle sleeves.

Ruffles! I used cotton anglaise which was a bit see-through so I added a double skirt, and lined the bodice with hot pink.

I added pink snaps to the back instead of buttons - so much easier. Love the pink on this dress. I used KAM snaps and pliers, I love that they're so sturdy and come in hundreds of different colours. I was skeptical at first but I've used them on dummy chains and they have outlasted the velcro I used for the last batch; impressed.

I hand-stitched the lining in place. It takes so much longer but is worth it. The front looks neater and the contrast stitching doesn't peek through. That's important when you're stitching hot pink in place on a white background.

Cute.

Have I mentioned how much I love this pattern? I've already cut out another Geranium Dress for Isla. It's so easy to use this as a base pattern and add on little bits and pieces to make it special - like the double skirt in this version, and the oversized bow I've planned for the next one.

baby

The Geranium Dress

Monday, March 30, 2015

The whole of blogland is awash with talk of Geraniums -- the dressy kind from blogger Rae of Made By Rae Fame. Geranium is a super-cute and beautifully-fitting pattern for a little girl's dress.

I couldn't not make one. Or at least try. I have made Rae's patterns before and they are so easy to follow and offer a beautiful fit - and this one is only $10, covering sizes 0 to 5T. It's a basic dress bodice and skirt with sleeve variations that you can mix and match to create a zillion dresses for your (*ahem* your daughter's) wardrobe. Isla's already wearing the next size up so I made the 6-12m version.

This little girl is very impressed.
LOOK AT THAT FACE. Aw. There is porridge everywhere, even after I cleaned her all up.

I made a sleeveless View A dress (there are two views, with multiple options to accessorise. Love!). I made the bodice out of Fabric Freedom Petit Fleur FF27-02 (grey background with pink, mustard and white ferns), and I made the bodice lining and skirt out of a contrasting solid lavender. Both fabrics are from Stitch.

The buttons are from my stash, and just happen to be all matchy-matchy. I have a giant bag of buttons and I pull out handfuls at a time to find some that are the same size (I don't subscribe to the school of thought that believes in matching buttons on a garment), so it was really just kismet that these three happened to be in successive handfuls and were the size I was looking for.

Can you believe these are my first ever buttonholes in the history of ever? I know. Zips? No problemo. Buttonholes? Excuse me while I hyperventilate about sewing and ripping into my already-constructed garment.

This pattern is AMAZING and EASY and ALL THINGS WONDERFUL. I really don't like that fastening the buttons makes the skirt cross over a little at the back, but a button placket or a zip would fix that, and is really just an aesthetic preference. The gathered skirt and moving baby do hide the cross-over nicely.