I am dreaming of Spring… Watching my garden wake up, the kids riding their bikes outside, digging in the dirt, long walks. the cool mornings, and, of course, wearing dresses!! It is so close I feel like I could taste it. When Mandy Pickle from Made Whimsy sent me these stunning strike off fabrics to sew, I just could not stop thinking about Spring dresses. I made a dress for myself and for my youngest daughter and absolutely love how they turned out!!
For my daughter’s dress, I used the Sofilantjes Foras dress pattern. It starts at 12 months (the size I made) and goes up to size 12 years. I made my oldest daughter a dress from this pattern last year (you can read that post here) and have been waiting until the baby fit on the size chart so that I could make her one too! She is finally on it!
Even though I am dreaming of Spring, the weather still has not caught up to my dreams. It was a rather chilly winter day out so I made my daughters dress in the 3/4 length sleeve and put some leg warmers on her so that she wasn’t miserable during photos. I am glad she had them on too because she tripped a few times, and they saved her knees.
The fabric that I used for both of our dresses is a cotton lycra with 92% cotton and 8% lycra. It is super soft and soo adorable. I had to throw in a splash of my dress fabric on the pockets to give her a pop of pink. The yellows in my dress fabric also were the same yellows in the honeycomb so I thought they worked well together. Aren’t those bees adorable!?
The pocket on the dress is a functional pocket. She does not understand yet just how great pockets are, but I still took the time to do the pocket because I absolutely love the colorblocking it adds to the dress.
The Foras has an optional gathered skirt or a full circle skirt. I did not have enough coordinate to do the full circle, but I had just enough for the gathered skirt. All those little gathers were worth it because she is so cute in this skirt!
This little princess has my heart! She brings so much joy to our entire family, and I just cannot imagine life without her. She is in that fun stage where she loves to see cause and effect. She dumps, investigates, rearranges, throws out, and has the busiest hands. I never can get over the curiosity and determination of a person entering toddlerhood! It’s nice to have her brothers and sisters around to help me keep up with her!
For my dress, I used the Sofilantjes Vallis dress. I tested the dress this summer (You can read that blogpost here), and I have wanted to make another one ever since. The fit was just perfect, and it has been my favorite dress that gets the most wear. I immediately knew it was the dress that I wanted to make again when I saw this floral.
The Vallis has a low back that makes Texas summers bearable and that I find very stunning! Most garments with low backs have a higher front neckline, but this one has a low enough neckline in the front that I can still easily pull it down and breastfeed in it without modifying it.
I picked my bodice size based off of my upper bust and picked my skirt size based on my waist measurement. I did not grade for my hips since the skirt is full. The only change I have to make to this pattern is to do an FBA (Full Bust Adjustment), which is really easy because there is a bust line and instructions on how to get an accurate front piece. My bust has decreased slightly since I made the dress this summer so I just pivoted my FBA piece in slightly based on the measurements I am now. I made the natural waist bodice with skirt A (the half circle). The pattern also includes an asymmetrical handkerchief and handkerchief hem for the natural waist bodice. If you are pregnant, the pattern has an empire bodice with a gathered skirt also included.
Pockets! Do you see how cold I am in this photo too? Ha. It still is not spring, but a girl can dream (and quickly put her coat back on when photos are over!)
I feel like we are ready for a vacation in these photos. Or to go to a wedding? I am not sure where we will be going yet, but I do know that if someone invites me to a fun event, I will not be up until 1 am the night before making a last minute dress!
Resources
1. The fabric for my dress and my sweet princess’s dress came from Made Whimsy. Both fabrics are currently open for preorder through March 5. You can order them here.
2. The pattern for my dress is the Sofilantjes Vallis dress. You can purchase the dress here. You can read my previous blogpost on the dress here.
3. The pattern for my daughter’s dress is the Sofilantjes Foras dress. You can purchase the dress here. You can read my previous blostpost on the dress here.
Thanks for reading! I hope I have inspired you. You may follow me on Instagram or receive updates by liking my page on Facebook. If you want to take a look into the things that inspire me, you can follow me on Pinterest. You may also follow my blog with Bloglovin.
Disclosures: I received both patterns for free as part of the testing process to give the designer feedback about the instructions and fit of the pattern. I received this fabric for free so that I could sew it up and provide modeled photos of it. This post also may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation when you purchase via my link. There is no cost to you. Any and all opinions expressed are my own.
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