Miss Madeline

It's time to welcome spring: with COLOR!!! I just finished this super-easy dress for my daughter, and she loves it. The pattern is called "Miss Madeline" from The Handmade Dress. I've wanted to make a peasant style dress for a long time, but always felt a bit intimidated by the amount of elastic (and thus casings) that it involved. This pattern made it all very simple and pain-free! The directions claim it is a 2 hour pattern to sew, but realistically I think you need 3.

The fabrics are mostly from a half-yard bundle of Mezzanine by Patty Young I picked up at the recent quilt show. I pieced the skirt instead of cutting the entire dress from a single fabric. I say the more colors and patterns, the merrier! The bodice is cut from Verna, by Kate Spain (leftover from my recent Verna baby quilt).

All that elastic was great, because I could customize the fit. I made the largest size, 10. The neckline turned out way too low according to the pattern directions, so I just cinched up that elastic to where I wanted it before stitching it together. My daughter was very adamant that the waistband not be tight to her body, so we adjusted that accordingly as well. I cut the skirt longer for her super-long legs. She says it is very comfortable and easy to play in. I love her leggings and cowboy boot style - totally her!

I loved this pattern so much I plan to make another one, this time with long sleeves and adding a vintage tea towel as a faux-apron. I think she'd appreciate some pockets, too. Most kids are collectors, after all. :)