Distractions

I had all the pattern pieces of the Burda jacket (from two posts ago) all pinned out on some white wool fabric ready to make version 2.0. But now we are having some marvellously warm and sunny spring weather, which made me realise that I should be sewing with some summer weight cottons, not winter woollens, and I unpinned the pattern and started searching through the stash for an alternative. Just wish I had realised this before I pinned out all the pieces....

I did stumble across a little dress I cut out for Anna ages ago, before I started on the black dress that didn't win, but didn't sew it because I had black thread in the overlocker. Since it's made of brushed cotton, and Anna is growing so fast I thought I had better get cracking and finish it. I didn't want this to become my first UFO of this year. Yes, that's right! So far this year I haven't created any UFOs (but I am conveniently ignoring the big box of UFOs from years gone by).

I used McCalls 5916, which even though it is sized for infants (newborn, small, medium and large) it fits Anna just fine with a bit of extra length. I'm increasingly realising that fitting and pattern adjusting is just as important for little kids clothes as it is for adults - just harder because the little monkeys won't stand still! Anyway, I used the pattern with the cute little cap sleeve, but left off the trim and skirt ruffle:

And once again it only took about an hour to make this dress but several attempts over the course of a day to get a decent photo of Anna wearing it. When I first put it on her she said "ooooh" and then ran over to her mirror to look at herself which was cute, but she still wouldn't stand up straight and smile for the camera.

I got lots of photos of her running away from me, her little legs can move fast these days!

For anyone else contemplating making this pattern, do a flat pattern measurement against the measurements of the child you're going to sew for to make sure it doesn't come out too big. And ignore the instructions on how to sew on the facing - it does that annoying thing all the pattern companies do and want you to sew the facings to the neckline and armholes, then sew the shoulder seams and hand stitch it shut. Much better to follow this tutorial by Trina over at The Slapdash Sewist to get a much cleaner finish to the neckline.

Thanks everyone for sharing your pattern tracing supplies with me - it seems my own research was a little slapdash! But now I have more options that I will look into next time I need some paper.

Well I have some exciting plans for the weekend, for a change. It's my 5th wedding anniversary and my parents have kindly offered to babysit Anna for the whole night! Yippee, we're off on a romantic weekend away! Although to be honest I'm looking forward to having an uninterrupted sleep, a sleep in and a quiet breakfast more than anything.... Too bad the football grandfinals are on this weekend too, and my husband is a mad Dragons supporter so we will be watching it sigh