The Birthday Dress

Those of you that sew my have recognised Alannah's dress in the previous post as the modkid Addison dress.  Every year, since I have been sewing I try to make the girls a new special birthday dress.  The first dress for Alannah was Sandi Henderson's Analise dress.  Sewn in Sandi Henderson fabric from her Farmers Market line of fabric.

The next year was Feliz Party Dress, from the book Sewing Clothes Kids Love (also available as an individual pattern).  As a relatively new sewer at the time, I also found Trillium's sew along fantastic assistance.  While the book has greatly improved instructions over the pattern, extra pictures and instructions never go astray.  Sewn with Flora and Fauna fabric by Patty Young.

Her 5th birthday was just before we moved to Switzerland, the party was at a local fairy venue, and I did not make this dress, it was a Christmas gift from her great grandparents.

This year I made the Addison dress, in more Sandi Henderson fabric, this time from her Secret Garden line of fabric. Yes I do use Sandi Henderson fabric a lot.  A selection of her farmers market line was the first quilting fabric I ever bought and I guess it has cemented a soft spot for her fabrics.  Although I am not completely smitten with all of her Secret Garden line, it is printed on the softest cotton, lovely for sewing clothes (and quilts!).  Alannah's favourite colour is blue.  A blue dress was requested and these were the nicest blue fabrics I could find.  I do really like the Vintage Ironwork fabric, I think if it is printed in more colourways in future lines it could definitely become a popular basic like her Henna Garden.  As for the Addison pattern, it is great, easy to follow, sewed together with no problems.  Having left this till the last minute I changed nothing, I even chanced the length!!  I simply traced and cut out the size 6 pattern and ta da perfect.  That is what I love best about most of the independent patterns out there, almost always they have great instructions with useful pictures and hardly any mistakes plus the size that should fit, fits!!  I have not had the same success with commercial patterns....