Buttonless Debut

I originally wrote this post the end of May or beginning of June - It is long, and it was taking me a few days to complete it. While I was trying to finish up the last few swatches of fabric samples, I got another call that my mom wasn't doing well in Utah and it was pretty rough. I felt like I had worried and cried so much that week that I actually felt numb. I wasn't processing the information well and I just kept working on the post, all the while, just sure my mom wasn't going to make it.

So it's taken a while to get to this point. First, I went back to Utah. Then I came back and was really sick with the pregnancy. Thankfully, I feel like I'm coming out of the fog and I have been sewing a bit. I am finishing up a quilt I cut out for Olivia over a year ago. I'll show pictures next post. It's cute. I want to get the quilt top all put together before I take pictures.

But I still have a lot of work to get any of these dresses ready to go and sell. Like so much work. But that's ok - I feel like I've been on the "slow track" a lot of life, so now I'm just trying to be ok with that. Being pregnant slows life down, and I'm sure a new baby will make things crazy too!

Here's the original post!

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I am pumped - After I wrote my last post yesterday, I actually finished the dress! What?? About 25 min later it was done and photographed. Wow - look at the motivation the internets can give ;)

I have a million thoughts, and I would seriously love your input. Whether I know you or not, or whether you buy dresses for little girls or not, I want your opinion! Alright! Please leave a comment below, or email me at stephaniekayerandallathotmaildotcom

Thought Numero One

Here is the dress design - Let me explain it.

Obviously I like the herringbone prints. I was in a mental rush when I designed the appliqué on this one, and just decided to put herringbone on both sides - but I switched up the pattern.

This is first side has a smaller pattern on the front, and this larger pattern on the back. Please ignore the fact that the dress doesn't have a button and closure on it (details, details... I was worried about how it all went together - not about whether it would close properly!)

Anyways, I think I like the first side better - it's a cute in the front, but I love the herringbone pattern on the back - oh - and if I manage to get a button closure on the back, you know what the cut out is?? IT'S A HERRINGBONE SHAPE. How awesome am I?? So the cutout in the back will just repeat the shape appliquéd on the front. Sounds fun?

The dress is completely reversible - I love that. But question #1 - do little girls NEED a reversible dress? If you were to buy this dress, how much would you love it THAT it is reversible? Or could you take it or leave it?

I wanted the dress fully lined, so I thought - well, if I'm fully lining it, might as well put in a bit more effort and make it reversible too. What do you think?

Thought Numero Two

 I need Olivia to play in this dress more and see how it fits - it's a tad shorter than I planned, but that might be a good thing. I need to make sure she has enough room to move in it - or make it wider around her legs so she can run.

Question #2: Do these girls that wear dresses in your life wear them regularly - like on an every day basis? I'm trying to figure out if this dress is more of a "church/nice" dress, or if it will be a play dress. If it's more for nice occasions, I the dress could get away with being a bit slimmer... what do you think?

This is the flip side. Small pattern in back, larger in front.

Thought Numero Three

Fabric - I have been thinking and dreaming about fabrics before I even had the dress design down! So here's what I'm imagining. The fabric this is made out of is a cheap muslin with some cotton colored fabric appliquéd.

So I'm imagining for my "summer line" (gosh, that makes me feel impressive) I want to go with linen, or linenish fabrics. These girls want to stay nice and cool in the heat, right?

But I'm totally wanting to have one side be a nice soft satin. Linen and satin go together?? I'm not sure. I'll have to prototype that one. But imagine putting this little girl in a dress that is all silky smooth against her skin. Um... Does one come in my size??

But I'm thinking of having muted tones on one side with the appliquéd pieces having some print (like this dress) and maybe the opposite side  have a printed dress with the appliqué being a muted tone. Does that make sense? So when you choose to put on this dress, you have two options:

Side A:

<<   So the Teal is a Satin that would make the dress

>> Then the grey dots would be the appliqué on the dress, whether you choose herringbone, circles, ovals, whatever your little heart wants.

Side B 

 << Then what about the triangles as the dress this time - the fabric isn't linen, but it's a very lightweight cotton that is perfect for dresses or tunics.

>> Then the orangey color would be the appliqué

And here's some more of my other favorite color combos.

#1

^^ This fabric combo reminds of me of school starting in the fall ^^

#2

^^ I forgot which fabrics I chose that are silky, but this orange and white 

polka dot would be awesome if it were all nice and silky. Like a dream :) ^^

#3

^^ These prints together are kind of busy, but I think with just a 

bit of the elephants as appliqué, it would look great. I feel like Chevron 

is a bit overused, but it is beautiful. And light. and springy ^^

#4

^^ Reminds me of a sailor! ^^ 

#5

^^ This darker fabric is a light chambray material - I love that look ^^

#6

^^ Same as above - and these circles are awesome - It would be fun to appliqué a 

completely different shape, like a rectangle, or star with these circles ^^ 

#7

^^ More awesome color combos ^^

#8

  

^^ I think the beige is a linen, which would be nice and airy, but the 

complimenting fabric is kind of too good to pass up as a base for the 

dress - with the beige as the appliqué? ^^  

#9

^^ I'm sure I could look this up again, but I'm pretty sure most of 

these printed fabrics are designed by Micheal Miller - He's one of

 my favorite fabric designers. It's just beautiful and my style ^^

#10

^^ And last example - I totally love this combo - obviously. On trend with 

the overload of teal and yellow. I wonder what we will be 

thinking about that trend in 10 years.... ^^

Anyways - Thanks for looking and hopefully dreaming with me! If you could just make some comments on what you think about this dress, please let me know. Even if you aren't in the market for a dress like this, I would love some feedback. And after thinking for a couple of months about it, I think I will make the dress more full. It's pretty slim, and I think it would be awesome with a bit more body.

Hopefully I can make a prototype here soon --- Just need to get that quilt done first. ;)

Questions to Answer:

#1: Do you like that the dress is reversible? Do you think it's a great selling point, or could you take it or leave it?

#2: Do these girls that wear dresses in your life wear them regularly - like on an every day basis? I'm trying to figure out if this dress is more of a "church/nice" dress, or if it will be a play dress. If it's more for nice occasions, I the dress could get away with being a bit slimmer... what do you think?

#3 What fabric combos were your favorite? Or what would you do different with the fabric?

#4 Anything other comments?