Happy Bees, Owly's and the Ghastlies: Dressing sweet & Sour

Sorry I haven't posted since the sponsored sew and charity auction last month. With Vincent's 2nd birthday and a visit from his grandparents it's been very busy here at Mockingbird's End.

This last week I've been buried in fabrics, swimming in fact.

It started with a birthday! A friend of mine had a little girl a week to the day after Vincent and her birthday was just an excuse for me to finally make a little girl dress. I had been accumilating patterns from here, there and everywhere, but hadn't gotten around to making one. Not my normal choice of provarication, this time it was because I had been working on two major client projects. Firstly I was working on a double CD-ROM project called Perfect Papercrafting Companions for Creative Crafting World Ltd, this then rolled into a major rebranding and web design for a publishing company, and a book jacket design for Unthank Books (in association with The Bronte Birthplace Trust) - something I do through Binky Roo's brother design company 'Green Door Designs'. 

So there I was, 48 hours to go until Amelie's birthday and I'm sitting at my sewing machine about to make my first dress...

This is the first dress styles of several

It's so difficult to price these beautiful creations as it all depends on the fabric but I try to be fair. This particular style takes me about 2 1/2 hours from the start: cutting the panels, to the end: hemming the bottom panel.

GOTHIC: THE GHASTLIES

Alexander Henry 'Ghastlies' Fabric makes up this one of a kind dress

I love Alexander Henry fabrics. They are random, qwirky, and exciting. The fabric used for the bodice and the bottom tier are from his 'Ghastlies' range. I haven't found the bottom tier fabric in the UK as of yet so I have a limited supply of it. The middle tier is a plain black woven fabric and the entire dress has a top stitch detail in pink (taken from the little girl twin's dress). I love this so much I need one for myself.

SUNNY: BEE HAPPY

'Bee Happy' Fabric in yellow and black

When I was trying to decide on the correct fabric for my friend's daughter, this was a close contender. As you can see, I was so taken by it that I still had to obtain some and make this gorgeous summery dress. For this one, the middle tier is slightly deeper than the bottom tier - on of the fun things about this dress is that it allows you to have some fun. The black really brings out the yellow in this dress and makes it look airy and light. Love it!

BRIGHT & BEAUTIFUL: NESTED OWLS

AdornIt - 'Nested Owl' Fabric from the coral range

TOOWIT TOOWOO! OWL! OWL! Vincent is obsessed with owls at the moment and this fabric screamed out to me. I played with several of the contrasting fabrics and this was the one I chose for Amelie. This one costs a bit more because I have to buy more of the bodice fabric to make sure that there is a whole owl for the front, but how it's worth it. I was so pleased with this dress I will be making another one for 1 - 2 yrs, with the bottom tier being the same fabric as the bodice but without the owl motif. So watch this space.

The beautiful thing about these dresses is that you can match a long, or short, sleeved top or a cardigan and wear them all year round, and to maximise the wear time, the knotted strap feature means the dress can grow with your little princess.

So hop on over to my Etsy Store and grab yourself (your little princess) a beautiful handmade, half-lined, dress. The Ghastlies dress, and the Bee Happy dress are available in 2-3 yrs now, though only one available of each, or you can pop on to the custom-made 12 month - 3 years old listing or the 4 - 8 years old listing and order one in any colour or theme you would like.

NN