My Little Peasant

Beatrix has such fair skin and is so sensitive to the sun that I have been wanting to make her some lightweight dresses with a bit more coverage to protect her shoulders and body from the sun when she plays outside.  All of her pretty hand me down dresses have thin straps, leaving her pale little shoulders exposed.  Yesterday I finished sewing a peasant style dress for her.  I combined a couple of the dresses from Sandi Henderson’s Claire pattern.  This should have been really quick except that I did stupid things such as sewing the two sleeves together.  I also did the final assembly while Beatrix was out with Jonny and the other kids, so it turned out too long.  Actually it’s too big all the way around, but that’s okay.  I considred this dress to be an experiment  because I haven’t sewn one of Sandi Henderson’s patterns before.  Even taking measurements of my girls, I find it difficult to fit them perfectly.

Beatrix doesn’t mind the length, and it is acually kind of nice that the dress is a bit roomy because it is so hot out here (I mean miserably hot-and no rain in sight-it’s awful!)

The fabric is a very lightweight cotton lawn that I bought for less than three dollars a yard, but you get what you pay for I guess, and I found several holes in it (luckily before I cut out my pattern pieces.)  Oh well, I can’t afford this stuff.

I am all about the peasant style neck and sleeves right now.  So easy to sew up and so easy to put on and take off.

Bea’s new white dress didn’t stop her from lying in the grass with Silas, of course not!

I think I am going to make another variation of this pattern for Larkspur soon, and I have been meaning to make Beatrix a bubble dress, but just haven’t managed to yet.  Lately there seems to be so little time.  I am spending a lot of time doing food oriented things:  gardening, canning, baking.  It’s just that time of year.  I am so pleased with my garden right now and if I want to keep feeling good about it, I have to keep spending my time working in it!