Well, now that I have a better grasp on Sis’s preferred style, it’s off to the races! [Or I’m off to the sewing machine, in this case.]

I have to tell you that the sweet ladies at the fabric shop looked more than slightly alarmed when I told them I planned to combine these fabrics into one outfit.

While I was trying to get a to-do list done (you can se a bit of it there on the right), my mind wandered to sewing…

And in my usual, super-technical way, I pulled fabrics and rearranged them until I felt good about the combination, design, and placement.

This dress sort of has its roots in a humble A-line dress… But I cut the front in half across the middle to “line” the pockets. The bottom half of the green dress front had pale pink microcord added to it, and the top half had the contrasting sleeve fabric added, so when it is put back together as a simple dress, it has nearly-invisible slip pockets lined with a fun surprise. Then I added the center strip top-stitched to the front to divide the “pockets.” [The bottoms of the pockets were created when I hemmed the dress, and the sides when I sewed the front piece of the the dress to the back.]

The ric-rac detail is so simple to add–I show you how here.

And I often do a button closure at the back because they are super-simple, but I kicked it up a notch with this one, adding a hot pink zipper I had on hand.

Originally the design called for open sleeves, slightly elasticated just above the elbows… But I cut the sleeves wrong… Then cut them wrong AGAIN… So I ended up adding a pale pink microcord ruffle to elongate them into bell sleeves. [Get tangled up; just tango on!]

The final detail is two large navy blue oversized buttons dug out of my button jar.

It was so fun to draw up something and then figure out how to execute it! …But I had to wait ’til morning to see if it would actually fit!

And it did, hooray!

This girl loves her pockets, so I’m always looking for fun ways to incorporate them into her clothes. And this dress is perfect for play! Right now, we add a pair of leggings, but come spring, it will be great too without!

She and hubs thought it was the perfect “daddy date” outfit.

But it’s great for hanging out too… You know, just crafting with Mama! Speaking of which, here she is with a peek of a project I’m sharing Wednesday. So come back then to find out the deets, wheeee!