Trying to design a little dress for my little Bea

I did a bit of sewing (and coughing-such a great combo) over the weekend. Realizing that I have yet to make Beatrix any dresses, I attempted to design a little dress for her. I had an dress in my mind, but no pattern to go with that dress. Using a different dress pattern for a guide, I drafted my own pattern, and sewed a little dress from a vintage pillowcase.

Only the dress wasn’t really that little. In fact it was even too big for Larkspur at first, so I had to take it in on the sides.

Since it was made with Beatrix in mind, it’s a bit short on Larkspur.

And while the short length is actually pretty cute,

it’s not very practical for this wild child, so she paired it with some wide legged capri length pants I sewed her a few months ago (my front yard still looks like a construction zone-but it’s getting better.)

Here’s take two on Beatrix, my little banana eater.

It’s still a bit roomy up top, despite the fact that I amended the pattern, and took the dress in on the sides after sewing it together and realizing it was still a bit huge.

The main difference between this dress and dresses I have sewed in the past is the bodice. It is very short (which is what I wanted) which required me to add armpit space (for lack of a better way to describe it-I’m sure there is a proper term) to the skirt under each arm. It was hard to figure out how wide and how deep to make those little half circles because Beatrix wouldn’t cooperate for longer than a second when I tried putting the bodice on her to measure.

I’ve had this bright chartreuse fabric for some time, and you know Larkspur wouldn’t be caught dead in it (well that’s what I thought-of course since this dress wasn’t for her she wanted it. were it hers, she would refuse to wear it.) Beatrix hasn’t gotten obsessed with purple and pink yet.