Sunday, February 12, 2012

Another Portabello Pixie "Claire" Dress

I liked the little dress so much that I made a couple of weeks ago for a baby shower gift, that I decided to make another one to keep. Besides, the one I made for my daughter last year was now getting a bit short, and I really wanted to try a few different techniques than I had before.
I raided my vintage linen stash and found a dresser scarf that had just the right colors I was thinking of--soft yellow, pink, and green. It is edged with beautiful, hand-crocheted lace. I cut it in half (don't hate me, ye lovers of vintage/antique things who could never conceive of doing such a thing!), because I wanted to be able to use it, instead of having it hidden away in a suitcase, never being admired.
Instead of one, solid piece of fabric for the skirt, I pieced together 20, 4" wide strips in 5 different prints. All seams are French-seamed, so they look nice and tidy. I edged the bottom of the skirt with a wide piece of scalloped, white linen.
Please excuse the pink, floral tights which really don't match, but this girl insisted on wearing them. And since I didn't want to battle over something as trivial as tights, I chose to go with the flow.
She thinks Baby Dear is hers. I don't mind. It made for some nice shots.
The main print for the bodice is a fabric I bought probably ten or more years ago, by Alexander Henry (I think). It is the sweetest print, with little, yellow ducklings and white daisies against a blue background. I meant to make a dress out of it for my second daughter (who is now almost 12) when she was a toddler, but I guess I never got around to it. My, how time flies!
Here's a close up of the attached, vintage apron.
I embellished the waistband with cotton lace and those little flowers that you can pick up at JoAnn's.
The bottom scallops are adorned with more of the lace from the waistband, and little flowers at each scallop. I love this dress. It has that soft, vintage, boutique look that I was going for. I made it a size bigger than my daughter wears, but that's okay since the fit is forgiving, and any fullness is pulled in at the back and sides with the sash. Hopefully, she'll be able to wear it for at least a year!

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