Strawberry Ruffle

PATTERN: Simplicity 2461
SIZE: 2
VIEW: A (dress) and C (pinafore)
FABRIC: Peach strawberries from the Meadowsweet collection by Sandi Henderson for dress; pinafore fabric and trim from stash

Every girl needs a pinafore with eyelet trim, don't you think? I love pinafores. They're the cutest little aprons ever. My mom made my sisters and me several dress-and-pinafore ensembles when we were wee, and I remember loving the feel of all that fabric on me. Can you remember what the weight of wearing a dress with a pinafore feels like? It's sort of the perfect weight, and somehow it's the memory of the unique feel of weight that is connected to the memory of special days: pinafore dresses are what you wear to the Christmas Eve party with the cousins, to church on Easter Sunday, to the summer birthday party in the park.

When I first started making these little dresses, I went to my stash and realized that it is mostly made up of smallish pieces of fabric, 1/2 yard or less. A lot of fabrics, but small pieces. So whenever I was out I would start picking up a yard or two of new fabrics that I liked, with no particular dress in mind. I wash the fabrics, stack them up, and wait for inspiration to strike. When it does, I go, "Oh, pinafore -- strawberries — dots — we have exactly one yard of the dots! — do we have any eyelet trim that matches this white?" Sometimes we do. I try to use as much as I possibly can from what I already have. I have a huge basket of ribbons and trims — I don't even understand where they've all come from. I also have a rather large collection of packaged vintage cotton bias tape. So much nicer than the packaged bias tape of today. If a neckline or an arm's eye calls for a bias strip, I will generally try to use something from my stash of bias tape, rather than cut it from my fabric. Cutting bias strips uses up so much fabric it bugs me sometimes, and since I don't really use the fabric amount-recommendations from the pattern, sometimes I don't even have enough to do it.

Is this boring you? No, don't answer. It didn't do Andy any good, either.

I thought the eyelet here was a bit wide, but it was the only one I already had that matched this creamy white, and then it kind of grew on me. I think maybe I'll fold that top edge of it down a little bit or something, so it's on more of an angle. I'm totally into making button loops by hand now. I have an automatic buttonhole function on my machine but I can't even get it to 1) make the buttonholes the same size, consistently or 2) get it to make the two legs of the buttonhole the same length. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, or if it's me or the machine. Sometimes it works great, sometimes it's ridiculous. And once you've made a buttonhole on the placket it's pretty hard to go back and take it "out." I guess I need to take my machine in. But naturally, I'm sure it will be functioning perfectly once it gets it to the repair shop. My machines like to do that to me. They get to the repair shop and they're all, "What? Hmm? Who me [bats eyelashes]? I'm perfect! You're crazy [eyelash bat, polite (phony) smile]!" Me: "Grrrrr! You know you suck, machine!" But maybe the machine people can show me what I'm doing wrong, because an automatic buttonhole function that actually worked would be pretty sweet to have. Ever since I figured out that blind hem thing life hasn't been the same. We would not have a dress per day here at Posie Gets Cozy without the automatic blind hem stitch. Hip hip hooray for the BHS!

Comments

[tammie]

im loving all these adorable clothes.

shes going to be the best dressed babe in town.

[Shanda]

Yummy dress, I adore the strawberry fabric AND the pinafore. So precious.

[jenny b harris]

Holy cow Alicia, you are whipping out these dresses so fast! This one is by far the cutest yet, I am gaga over that dotty pinafore! And strawberries... swoon!

[pam]

love the pinafore. at this rate of dress production, you are going to need twins so they can wear each of the dresses at least once before they outgrow them. lol

[Ren]

I love the strawberry pattern. You really are 'whipping' these out quickly. One very lucky little girl!

[Ruth Perras]

gorgeous little dress!
When I still sewed dresses, etc. for myself or my girls I never paid attention to the amounts of fabric either. I seemed to - and still do - acquire bits of fabric, and then decide what to make with it, just like you.
I am waiting with you - hoping the wait will be over soon!

[Bethany]

These dresses are killing me! They are adorable.

[Jenny Hillman]

Oh, for Heaven's sake....can you make one in my size??? This is by far, hands down, the cutest, sweetest, most adorable little dress set I've ever seen. Swooning...
I adore pinafores. When I was 17, I found a delicate swiss dot ruffled, long pinafore at a thrift shop, and many years later, our daughter wore it when my husband and I finally had a wedding. Nothing sweeter!

xo Jenny

[Kristen]

All these little dresses are perfectly perfect, but this one...I want to kiss it. I can't wait to see a little baby in it.

I also can't wait to see what happens when you get to knitting little baby sweaters. Any idea when that will happen??

[Jeanette M.]

Oh how you make me wish I could sew. Is the photo with the buttons the back of the dress? I would wear the buttons and the scooping ruffle in the front - just to cute!

[Ella]

My mom made me and my sister (as well as herself) matching strawberry print sun dresses one summer. This must have been 1972. I loved them.

Will there be enough days in the year for your little sprout to wear all these adorable clothes?!?

[Mandi]

So adorable!!

[Gloria]

This is my favorite one yet! They're all so lovely, but this one reminds me of dresses that my mom made for my daughters! My eldest daughter's bedroom was done up in, "Strawberry Shortcake." My Mom made her some clothes with S.S. fabric! Sweet memories...:)

[April]

Oh! My! I am drooling over this one. Too bad my 8 year old would protest. Loudly!
It is really lovely Alicia!

[kaye]

Your posts never bore--love looking at and reading about your creations

[The Hungarican Chick]

OMG OMG This is the cutest EVER! I love pinafores too! Mom used to make them for us as well, and yes, i TOTALLY understand.

Here's me as a wee one in a wedding when I was a micron:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2122/2470828047_75a46cddec.jpg

Also, Sense & Sensibility patterns makes an adorable pinafore and dress for the munchinettes...
http://www.sensibility.com/pattern/images/thheirloompinnyside2.jpg

[Verity]

Oh my goodness. You are killing me with these dresses! So so gorgeous! The images they conjure up are so beautiful!

[Molly]

I am a constant reader, but I never comment. This dress, however, is too precious to be silent. Its too much for words, you will have one outfitted baby girl! So happy for you!

[Kristin]

oh man...that it so cute! Don't you sometimes wish you could still wear that sort of thing?!

[LPQuilts]

This kiddo will be the best dressed, for sure!

I can't figure out the blind hem stitch on my machine. Maybe I'm doing it wrong, but it's never blind. I can always see it!

[monaluna]

Absolultely adorable! She is going to be one lucky daughter...

[Laurie]

Your little love is going to be dressed in love...beautiful!

[JoAnne]

How funny to think that this little girl will have a legion of aunties across the world who will ooh and ahh and say "Ohhh, I remember that dress! She was so LITTLE then, remember?" ...as we watch her grow up. The Legion of Aunties. I like that. I like that a lot. (um...hope you do too, of course.)

[Alisa]

OMG!!! This is the cutest dress ever! If I were little and had this dress, I would never take it off.

[kim]

Oh so beautiful! All of the dresses are so sweet, but there's something about this dress that makes it so special. I made a blue floral dress with a white eyelet pinafore for my oldest daughter when she was 18 months old. It's still one of my favourites.