A Ladybug Frock

I've written before about my ambivalent relationship with sewing. I'm happy to say, things are improving. Slowly. A few weeks ago I made this dress for Miss Kate. Well, I suppose my mom did hold my hand the entire time, deciphering the pattern and translating it into instructions my novice sewing brain could comprehend, but I did most of the actual work. The pattern is from Heather Ross's Weekend Sewing, which I first saw on Amanda's blog. According to the book, this dress is super simple and can be easily whipped up in an hour or so. With my mom's help, it took me a little over 2 hours, although we did have several interruptions from the dress recipient.

I was rather pleased with how it turned out, and I think Miss Kate approved as well. We both loved the fabric. It's a lovely shade of blue, accented with flowers and, best of all, little red ladybugs! Kate is really into ladybugs right now. This is her favorite song at the moment, and although it is pretty cute, sometimes I halfway regret introducing her to it, what with the constant requests to "listen to ladybug." I found the material at our local thrift store for 50 cents. My mom found the ladybug buttons at a fabric store in town. The buttons are merely decorative, although they do hide the rather messy spot where I over back stitched on the straps. Plus, Kate adores them.

So, while I can't exactly say that I've fallen in love with sewing (truth be told, I would still rather be baking, gardening, or just reading a good book), I did feel a great sense of accomplishment after finishing this dress. And I think it's a valuable experience for Kate as well, to see the art of production (however simple) being carried out at home, as opposed to merely grabbing bargains off the clearnace rack. My own pride spilled over to her, as she tells everyone that she made her ladybug dress. Well, she was there during the process, and I'll gladly share the glory.