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.

Butterfly Blouse and Bubble Shorts

One of the best things about having this little sewing blog has been making a real-life sewing friend in my town, Erin. She and her sister Caroline are an inspiration to me in many, many ways, sewing and beyond.

(Today was an especially good day for the hungie gungie clan because baby (or not-so-baby) Wes had no glow in his scans and is living cancer-free after a long and strenuous treatment for stage four neuroblastoma. YAY!)

While at a much needed ladies' night out (at my current favorite restaurant), Erin gave me Lottie a pair of her adorable bubble shorts, in a fabulous Leah Duncan print (from morning walk). Size 12 months, in case you are shopping for your own. Thank you, Erin!

So as to have a better excuse to blog these super-cute bottoms, I set to work making a top to go with them. Yes, the print on print is a little much, but this is a baby, and I was working from my stash.

Cargo Duffle Bag

I am breaking my rather long blog-silence to show off a project I am pretty proud of—my Cargo Duffle Bag! Another great pattern from Noodlehead (free from Robert Kaufman Fabrics).

I used my new favorite fabric line, Tule by Leah Duncan for Art Gallery Fabrics (which I bought from Hawthorne Threads). I love these prints. The main fabric is Meadow Vale in Bright, the pocket and handle accent fabric is Floras Oasis in Naranja, and the lining (both pockets and bag interior) is Terrain in Cactus. The bottom accent and bottom gusset is Essex Yarn Dyed in Denim from Robert Kaufman.

I referenced Anna's tips here, as well as some tips from the sew-along hosted here, and I used skirt as top's lining instructions.