the girls’ Easter dresses

Pardon the interruption of the Sincerest Form of Flattery! Just call this an intermission of sorts. ๐Ÿ˜‰

I’ve given up on the nice pictures of the girls modeling their dresses together…at least in the same frame. Thank goodness for photo editing…anywho! Here are the girls’ Easter dresses.

First up for the rundown is Sadie’s dress! Hers didn’t come together as easily as Charlotte’s-but I’m happy with the way it came out. I made it with a simple bodice but added some detail with some pin tucks down the front.
I love how that turned out! I’ve never tried pin tucks but I love ’em now! They’re really like tiny pleats, and I do have a love affair with pleats. (don’t tell Rory!)
Do you like how I had her pose with our religious Golden Book? well…it is an Easter dress after all!
I made a quick sash from some kind of fancy material from Joann’s and pleated it around the front and sides cause it needed some interest. (and was too wide-oops! Case in point. Make a sewing oops-add pleats and everything is better!)
I added some little flutter sleeves and it buttons up the back….
k let’s just take a moment and acknowledge how perfect those buttons are for this dress.ย 
Sigh..ok moment over!
Then I made a simple skirt tube and gathered it to fit the bodice-tada! Her headband flower I made using this tutorial. The fabric for the dress is bleached muslin for the top, some kind of fancy fabric for the sash, and the floral is Darlene Zimmerman Betty Dear in Wildflower Lavender. I found it available in a few places online when I googled it.
Also, I didn’t make a tutorial for either of the dresses! Sorry! :} I was in that “get it done now” mode and Sadie’s design morphed quite a few times so I kept changing my mind…didn’t lend itself well to making a tute.ย ย ย 
You’ll notice my model demanding her payment of candy. lol.ย 
My next model doesn’t require any candy-just tons of kisses and a little toy.

ย Although she is wriggly as can be…these two shots were the only ones that even turned out semi-in focus.

Most of the pics looked like this one below. Darn that good crawler! just kidding. I love it that she can crawl. And get anywhere. LOVE love love it.

ย So I’ll show ya the dress hanging up, since it’s probably easier to see the details while it’s sitting still.

ok…..SIT dress….Stay!…good dress.

k.

I basically knocked off Oliver and S’s Playdate dress-love the pattern but it was out of print! ๐Ÿ™ I probably wouldn’t have bought it anyhow, I’m a little cheap like that. lol. So I drafted my own copy cat pattern from a dress Charlotte already had in her closet and worked it out. It was pretty simple and I sewed it up in a few hours.


My favorite details are the yoke (?), with the tiny lavender buttons I’ve been hoarding saving. and the little bit of gathering detail on the sleeves. Also the pleat underneath the yoke. Remember my love affair? Told ya we were in deep together, me and pleats.

ย Back to the buttons-they have a little ring of white around the edge. I LOVE THEM. They may start some friction with me and pleats. We’ll see. They did have the audacity to be sewed on a little crooked, so that may mar our relationship a tad.


ย So what do you think?ย 
Me love ’em.
And so endeth the longest post ever.

Comments

  1. LOVE them both! I really with I had half your talent and could make even ONE dress in a few hours.

  2. They are absolutely DIVINE ๐Ÿ™‚ beautiful, very lucky little ladies xox Mel xox

  3. Very sweet dresses. Well done!

  4. SO cute!! I started working on my girls’ dresses tonight, but realized I forgot to cut out a pattern piece and I’m fresh out of the fabric. Its not something I can “make do” because it is a skirt panel piece… oops! Looks like it is back to the store for more of the fabric!

    Maybe I should just forget using patterns, and wing it like you do!

  5. What beautiful dresses! Your girls look gorgeous in them ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous! You are a superstar, Jess. I really love those pin tucks! Oh, and coming from someone who has actually made that o + s dress, let me tell you that no matter how you constructed your dress, your way was easier. That one little construction detail is the only black mark on o + s patterns, in my opinion. It was SO much harder than it needed to be, and unlike her other construction techniques, I didn’t feel like it made the dress any nicer on the inside. Just more room for error. Ok, rant over. You dresses and girls are just perfect!

  7. Love them both. I so want just a smidge of your talent and creativity!

  8. DIVINE!!! I love that fabric, and the dresses compliment each other beautifully!

  9. Both dresses are adorable! Great job.

    J.

  10. Hehe! Cute dress and adorable models.

  11. Globe trottin' mama says

    I won’t bore you with all the reasons on my mega to do list why I should NOT be making my girl Easter dresses, but there’s just no way I can look at this post and not be inspired to give it a whirl. Did I mention, I’ve never made a dress for them before. You make it look so easy. I HAVE to try. A needed break from the other stresses in my life. If they look half decent, I’ll send you pics ๐Ÿ™‚

  12. adorable dresses and models! i love the props – the book and the matching ring a link! great job.

  13. Beautiful! (both the dresses and the girls!) My two girls aren’t so lucky. I bet my 6 year old would like to be a member of your family so she would get to wear dresses like that instead of the things I make her (which is nothing!). At least my 6 month old girl doesn’t mind, right?

  14. The dresses are absolutely gorgeous. It’s funny because when I saw the buttons on Sadie’s dress I instantly said “Oh those buttons are so perfect for that dress!” and then I scrolled down a little more and saw your comment and had to laugh.

    You did a great job with both dresses and you have such gorgeous models.

  15. Both dresses are great! And the buttons are fabulous.

  16. These are lovely and so are the little ones inside the dresses.

  17. How lovely!!! Take lots of photos – they’ll be keepers. Do you have a matching dress or accessory also? My mom used to make us matching outfits when I was growing up. I love looking at those photos now.

  18. Aw, love them love them LOVE THEM! They are adorable! I love this kind of set, the matchy but not the identical dress. (Especially because hi, you can hand down the bigger one without having the little one in pictures in the exact same dress in two different sizes, lol…) I should make my girls some easter dresses, once I finish mowing through a pile of leggies and a quilt… When is easter again? Next weekend? Hm… maybe before the quilt? ๐Ÿ˜‰

  19. They are adorable and you don’t use a paper pattern? I’ve been sewing for, well, decades and I still need a paper pattern! (Though I can make a elastic waist skirt without one and I suppose I could attach that to a t-shirt or such to make a dress). Cudos to you and your talent!

    ps. those buttons ARE perfect and we don’t hoard we keep for the ‘just right’ project :o)

  20. I love it – both dresses are beautiful, and I feel so very bad now =D Passover is tomorrow night and I didn’t even cut fabrics for their (imaginary)dresses =D

  21. Very ,very darling both the dresses and the girls. I love that you used pleats and accents of Lavender!

  22. I love these! They are absolutely adorable. Can you do a tutorial on how to do pin tucks? I love those of the bodice and would love to learn how to do them for a shirt I want to make.

  23. Love them both! I have to post B’s this week, too. I love those pintucks!

  24. I LOVE them! You picked the perfect fabrics. I love the pintucks (they’re on my to do list), the flutter sleeves, and the fancy sash (with plenty of room for a beautiful bow) on Sadie’s. I love the pleat and buttons and teeny sleeves on Charlotte’s. Love the pictures! ๐Ÿ™‚ I took over a hundred (?!) pictures of Ansley, trying to get a few decent ones. ha ha.

  25. Those are such great dresses!

  26. Absolutely gorgeous dresses!!! Love how they both compliment each other as well. Your children are beautiful as well.

  27. The dresses are gorgeous!! Very impressive work ๐Ÿ™‚

  28. I love them both!! I’m in love with the bodice especially on Sadie’s dress! Beautiful!

  29. The dresses are lovely! Love the bribes, too.

  30. GORGEOUS dresses. Any excuse to make a dress hey? I love the golden book pose – i had that book as a child! – got it for my first communion. Happy Easter! Suz

  31. Love, love, love your dress, your style and definitely your creativity. You are constantly providing me with ideas for my lil girls who are very close in age to your two adorable muchkins. Thanks always for your inspiration!

  32. They are both truly lovely! You are so creative with everything you do!!

  33. They are both truly lovely! You are so creative with everything you do!!

  34. LOVE LOVE LOVE them both. I always think when I finish a project “man that is cute” and then I come to your blog and I am outdone hehe. Seriously you take it to the next level. I would love a sew-along of either dress, especially Sandie’s. I love all the detail you put into your designs (the buttons, pintucks, etc). The details really make it beautiful.

    Jessica
    acoupleofcraftaddicts.blogspot.com

  35. Wow! I love the colors and all the details!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  36. Both dress are beautiful (and I do love those buttons) and your girls are adorable. I thoroughly enjoy your blog. Thanks for sharing your talents, creativity and family with all of us!

  37. Beautiful, Jess. Sadie’s dress is so gorgeous. The little sleeves are just amazing. So many details. And Charlotte’s dress is so sweet. Love them both.

  38. These are super cute! I love that they match, but they’re not exactly the same. And, as always, you totally rock at making up your own patterns.

  39. OMGosh! Love them. Can you come do mine? Oh, right, my mom thrifted some generic pink somethings for my girls ahead of time – oh well. I’m so glad to be working in my garage this week so I have a dedicated corner for sewing -instead of my kitchen table. Hopefully, that will get me caught up on some summer sewing plans & a couple of your tutes that I’ve been obsessing over.

  40. They are both great dresses! I worked on my girls’ dresses ths weekend- just a zipper, hem, and sash to go on the last one! Awesome people like you have inspired me to give up on the whole pattern thing, too! ๐Ÿ™‚ LOVE your buttons, by the way!

  41. It’s good to know that I’m not the only one who bribes their child with candy ๐Ÿ™‚
    The dresses are gorgeous…and I heart the pintucks too!

  42. Awesome Job Jess! Love them so much! I will have to get on making a tiny one for my niece’s upcoming debut in to the world this june.

  43. beautiful! you did an amazing job. i realized yesterday that easter is next sunday. i had better get to work on my girls dresses!

  44. The dresses are beautiful, and so are your girls!!

  45. Your commentary is always as fun as your projects. I LOVE love these dresses, your models, and your sense of humor…..I crack up at least once during every blog posting. So…when your models grow up and you get tired of crafting (as if), you can be a stand-up comedian!! ๐Ÿ™‚ Lovin the smile on my face because of you today!!

  46. I LOVE the Easter dresses! So pretty. The pintuck pleats are to die for and I love the placket too! Lavender and orange if a favorite combination of mine–the dresses just scream Easter!

  47. Oh Jess! I love them! The fabric is so….spring.

  48. those dresses are super cute!!! any way you’ll be thinking of putting together a tutorial/sew-along for the ‘playdate’ knock off?? ๐Ÿ™‚

  49. Just WOW!!! I LOVE these!! Wonderful work. I adore how the sash turned out and I’m glad it started out to wide so that you had to pleat it. ๐Ÿ™‚ Glorious buttons too!

  50. I love the Easter dresses, and the buttons are perfect. I love great buttons.

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