Annabelle's Easter dress

The pattern is from the Ottobre 3/08 issue.  It is pattern #4, the 2 in 1 dress.  The panty underneath is all one with the dress, so it covers the diaper.  It is definitely large enough for a cloth diaper with an extra liner underneath.  I made it from the yellow print with blue underneath because I like unusual color blends.  The top is a Monag blank that I cut the sleeves off and lettuce edged.  I have several long sleeve blanks and I need to use them up eventually...here's the first one. 

The lettuce edging is just as easy with my regular machine as it is with the serger.  It's a bit slower but it works just fine.  I really like how it looks.

The bodice was a challenge.  The straps are elasticized and you sew them to the front of the bodice first; next, you put the back together and then have to sew the back to the front with the straps already in place.  It requires a little maneuvering but now that I have experienced it once it wouldn't be so hard the next time. 

When I made the underskirt I just put it right sides together like always with a dress, only to remember when I was done that it needed to be right side of bodice to wrong side of skirt so the skirt faces out and the bodice faces in.  It was a good experience in paying attention; ripping out 2 rows of stitching and then redoing the gathering and sewing it all again was a lesson I won't soon forget.  It all came out in the end, though.

Now I am going to make some Easter outfits for my daughter's 4 boys and I might even have time to make myself a new dress in the next week so I have an Easter dress, too.

The plants are budding and it will be greening soon.  The grass is growing and the forsythia bushes are getting ready to pop out their pretty yellow "winter is over!" declaration.  I can't wait.  I love gardening and playing in the dirt.  So do the chickens. 

Enough for now.  Time to go pick out patterns for Easter clothes.  Blessings on you and yours.