Mermaid Geranium Dress for A Five-Year-Old

My little girl is 5!

This time, for her annual birthday dress, I made a Geranium, in a mermaid print reminiscent of, although much pinker than, her third birthday dress.

This is view B with the side seam pockets, in size 5T.

The fabric is Sarah Jane Out to Sea in Mermaid Play (Blossom Pink).

The flutter sleeves and the bodice lining are Kona Cotton in Candy Pink.

I wanted a more finished look on the sleeves than the zigzag stitch that the pattern calls for, so I lined them in a pink, silky lining fabric I had in my stash.

(I sewed the lining and sleeve pieces together on their outside edge, right sides together, with a small seam allowance, then turned and pressed, making sure to roll the lining side under a smidge so it doesn't show on the main side of the sleeve.)

She wore it for her birthday party last weekend, which was supposed to be a water party, but since it was an unseasonable and breezy 67 degrees out, so it was more of a "run around in the backyard and show off your room to your girlfriends" kind of party.

She had a ton of fun with her sweet friends. We tried again to stick to 5 guests for turning 5 (not including little siblings). It ended up being 6 friends but a pair of them are twins so I let it slide. ;)

Happy Birthday, Little Lou! Can't believe you're going to be a kindergartener!

p.s. As my instagram followers might have noticed, I made this dress last month during Kids Clothes Week (I could only participate for half the week because we went to New York for the weekend—for Vampire Weekend at Roseland Ballroom!).

Anyway, as seen on instagram, I actually made bias tape of the Kona Candy Pink to put in the bodice and dress seam and totally forgot to sew it in. Would have been a nice touch but didn't care enough to pick it apart. Let's keep sewing fun!