The Willow Dress

A few months ago now, I was lucky enough to be included in the pattern test for the gorgeous Willow Dress by Nikki of Bubby and Me.

What drew my eye to this tester call were the gorgeous little flutter sleeves, and the chance to mix knit and woven fabrics.  The skirt is made from a woven, and the bodice from a knit fabric.  It makes this dress so comfortable to wear, and easy to get on and off for little munchkins that insist they can do it all themselves, and "don't need your help Mum!".

So I whipped up two of these lovely dresses.  The first was a size 4 for Hannah.  I'm not sure what type of fabric the pink with white spot is that I used for the bodice on this one.  It's very synthetic-feeling, light-weight, and feels like it might have some lycra in there somewhere.  Anyway, Hannah loves it because it feels smooth, so this dress has become known as the "smooth dress!" in our house.

The skirt I made out of a lovely floral cotton woven fabric that I got on sale last year, and that had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to be used up.

I found this pattern so user friendly, and so easy to come together.  I haven't used clear elastic before, but it's a genius way to stabilise the waist-band onto the knit bodice,  especially for the pink knit that was very prone to fraying and laddering.  I think I'll be using that method again.

Anyway, as usual when I find a pattern I like, I just can't stop at 1, so I whipped up this size 7 for Bethany.  The red knit I had sitting in my stash (actually I think I may have stolen borrowed it from my Mum's stash some time ago).  I matched it up with this quilting-weight cotton fabric I have had sitting in the stash because I liked it's geometric print when I spotted it on the bargain table at my local fabric store eons ago.  Bethany has worn this dress a tonne over our summer, because it's just a super comfy and suitable-for-any-occasion type of dress.  

Anyway, so this pattern has now been released, and is available via the One Thimble ezine here.  Thanks for having me on the test Nikki!