The Versatile Dress: Day 1

Hey guys, happy Friday! I had this idea yesterday that involved creating a "base" pattern. The idea is that I could use this pattern as a jump starter to create a number of things. Below is a picture of the pattern all cut out. It is a dress front and then two identical halves which together compile the back of the dress. The pattern is 12-18 months because that is the size Lilly is (almost) wearing. (The picture below is for Monday's post but it was the best photo I had of the pattern all cut out) 

Over the next few days I am going to do a number of posts based on this pattern...which I'm calling The Versatile Pattern At the end of next week I will hopefully have an E-Book compiled of all the posts, with details on how to create each item. I really like the idea of having one pattern that can be used to make an entire wardrobe...yet not everything looks identical. If you're interested in purchasing this pattern let me know. It is $1.99. 

First up we have the Luau dress. I named it this because the material I used reminded me of a Luau. The material used in this post is from my sponsor Marie Madeline Studio and can be found here and here.

After cutting out the three pieces that you see in the above picture I pinned them together and then sewed up the sides and across the shoulder area. 

Then I sewed the two back pieces together, creating a seam down the center of the back of the dress. This is where I added my zipper. (See the picture below)

Next, I finished the neck and arm holes with some white edging that I had purchased a while back from the thrift store...it worked perfectly.

Finally, I used the contrasting fabric and added a strip at the bottom. The picture above shows how I attached it. Basically the fabric wraps around the bottom of the dress on both sides. It starts about 4 inches from the bottom on the inside of the dress and ends 4 inches from the bottom on the outside of the dress.  I made some pleats and folded the edge over by about 1/2 an inch so that you don't see the raw edge. It kind of gave the dress a "bubble" effect" at the bottom. I like the look of the contrasting fabrics. 

Here is the finished product, what do you think? Isn't she a cutie!!

Stay tuned on Monday to see how I use the remaining blue and white fabric...