Xanthe's new dress used to be Daddy's shirt

So here it is, my take on the man's business shirt refashioned into a little girl's dress.  I have a couple of Daddy's old business shirts in my stash so I let Xanthe choose her favourite.   She chose a lovely grey and red stripe shirt.  I looked through my stash to find a fabric that complemented to add a bit more colour.  I settled on a honeycomb spot by Riley Blake from the Rainy Days and Mondays line.  I love the finished dress especially the extra pop of red, Xanthe loves the pockets (perfect for putting little treasures in).  Unfortunately my measuring was a bit off and the bodice is a little long (for right now, lucky kids grow!).  So I think this will be a better fit next summer which is probably not a bad thing.  Even though she loves the idea of wearing Daddy's shirt and I added the extra red trims and pockets, she still insists it is not pink enough for her!

I remixed Sandi Henderson's Gracie Jumper pattern.  The neckline is pretty much the same although I slip stitched the top seam closed rather than using 1" bias as written in the pattern.  Also I kept the shirts original button panel, so had to alter how the lining was sewn in.  The pockets are of my own design.  The ruffle at the bottom was pieced together from the extra shirt length and the sleeves.  I lined it in Kona Solid in Ash from my stash.  I replaced the cream colored shirt buttons with some black buttons from an old cardigan of mine.  They are very sweet and oval, heart and triangular in shape.  

Daddy has today kindly donated an all pink shirt to the sewing pile, so perhaps I will give this dress another go for Xanthe with a better fit for this summer.............

I just love this last shot.  I don't think Xanthe did, she was a bit over the photo shoot by this stage.