Voila--Ashlyn's Dress!

I'm finally showing the finished dress that I mentioned earlier.
I talked about fabric choice here.
And solving a problem here.
I used four fabrics, and Amy Butler's pattern for a jumper and bloomers in her book "Little Stitches for Little Ones".


Let's talk about the bloomers first.
I had mentioned already that I added some appliques, but I wasn't happy with the way one of the flowers didn't match on the front seam (not that I had tried to match them exactly, but I actually did think about alignment of the pattern across the front).
So I added a fairy face to the front, which not only solved my problem, it made the bloomers a lot cuter too.
(click on images to enlarge)

The photo doesn't show how glittery the fabric actually is.
I used variegated thread in green tones to stitch her to the front

I added thin silver ribbon to the hem, using a zigzag stitch to couch the ribbon in silver thread


The hem of the dress got two more rows of silver ribbon, overlaid by a green velvet ribbon


The ribbon was just shy of being long enough to meet, so rather than trash it and buy new yardage, I added a flower that I made from the bloomers fabric (two flowers were cut out, one was interfaced, sewn right sides together then turned, hand basted to give volume).

This was another example of a problem having actually been a positive, in that the end result is better than the original idea.
The button in the center of the flower is the same as the buttons used on the shoulder, only in a smaller size.

I added another fairy applique to the bodice, and used the bloomers fabric on the band to tie it all together (the pattern calls for the band and bodice to be the same fabric)



I'm told this fits her perfectly, so that's pretty exciting.
I wish I had thought to enter it in the San Diego County Fair, but I didn't research the option until the deadline had ended.