I’ve always wanted to be able to sew a dress for my little girl. It’s true. This was long before I even knew I would have a little girl. So this year I braved my pattern-reading insecurities and attempted to make a Christmas dress for my little Ella.
As you can see above, it worked! I didn’t tell anyone I was working on a dress for her just in case it didn’t work. I didn’t even tell Pete. No one knew until the moment I put it on her at Grandma & Grandpa Olsen’s house at Christmas. That’s how unsure I was that it would turn out. But there it is! All one piece with a closure on the back and enough material in the skirt to twirl. Score one for this mama. Yay!
While making the dress, I followed a pattern for the first part but took plenty of liberties after I could see that the dress really was coming together. I fit the top to Ella’s frame and, instead of putting in a zipper along the side, I gave it more of a homespun feel by sewing in a natural ribbon on the back near her neck. I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. And, as you can see, I didn’t choose a Christmas fabric so that she can continue to wear the dress for other occasions. The picture above was taken at Mama Bex baby shower a week ago. I think I’ll make a few more before spring arrives!
