Brooklyn Bridge Fairy Tale Dress

As most of you know by now,  I love New York. We lived in Brooklyn for a few years and I have a lot of attachment to the bridge, as a symbol of Brooklyn, a beautiful national landmark, and because of my fond memories of crossing it in my old Volvo 240 while in labor with Louisa to get to the hospital in Manhattan.

So, I had picked out this Leah Duncan fabric for something special long ago, and I finally completed this dress for Louisa in October. She actually wore it for school picture day, although it hadn't yet been hemmed, because I just had to go to bed at some point (circle skirts—phew!).

I used the Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress, again with a slightly lengthened bodice. This time I included the sleeves and collar, which I kind of regretted leaving off her Easter dress.

I modified the skirt to make it a circle skirt, using measurements of the bottom edge of the completed bodice to determine the circumference. Even though I tried to compensate for the stretch of the bias, it still ended up a little too big, so I pleated it with small box pleats at each of the bodice darts so that everything lined up.

I color blocked the skirt by slashing and spreading my self-drafted circle. I also added side seam pockets. The sleeves and the pockets are both coral and mustard so the color blocking makes subtle appearances throughout.

I'm hoping it still fits in the spring because she didn't get a ton of wear out of it yet. But she does really like it, despite the vintage feel.

Fabric details: Leah Duncan Gramercy Brooklyn Bridge in Glare; Pat Bravo Pure Elements Solids in Ocean Waves, Grapefruit and Empire Yellow, all from Hawthorne Threads.

Thanks for reading, and happy sewing in the new year!