Saturday, December 8, 2012

A Vintage Tablecloth Baby Dress and Bonnet

This dress is either very absurd or very cute. I cannot decide which, but at any rate it is sewn and finished for little Anne. I made it from a vintage Christmas tablecloth my mother gave me last week.

I actually used a real, true, honest-to-God pattern for this dress. Peter's mother gave me several patterns right before Thanksgiving and this was one of them. It is a cute little style with a circular skirt sewn to a short yoke. The pattern is for a short sleeved dress but I merely lengthened them a few inches to make long sleeves. I used the 6 month size and although it is a bit roomy I think the size is actually quite good compared to other patterns I have used. It seems infant patterns in general just run HUGE! This one didn't.

It's just the print that gets me. It's just a bit too big and too gaudy, I think at times. At other times I think it looks pretty cute and kind of 1960's. So, I don't know. It is what it is and after this Christmas season Anne will never be able to wear it again since she will have well outgrown it by next Christmas!

The little bonnet was my own creation. Or experimentation. I'm working on a simple fitted bonnet pattern/tutorial and this was my first attempt. It came out almost how I wanted it to. At any rate, it fits Anne well and looks cute with the dress! And she will actually keep it on her head!

It is super fun to make little dresses though. They take so little fabric and can be whipped up in an afternoon or two! This coming week I'll be making Anne's Baby Hobbit dress for the Hobbit movie which comes out next week! I'm so excited about that - both making the dress and seeing the movie!

And tonight, Anne can wear this dress to a Christmas party we are going to. We are supposed to dress up as a Christmas song and Anne could possibly go as Amy Grant's "Baby, It's Christmas" (although her song is not exactly referring to a child, but still).

So, that is what has been up on the sewing front. I did make a tiny stuffed mouse this week and petticoats and a dress for Anne's doll but I have been lacking in motivation to get on the computer much this week. There is just so much to do this time of year, computer-time is not high on the priority list!

Love to you all!

Sarah

16 comments:

  1. She's so beautiful. She could represent the song "The Holly and the Ivy." It's one of my favorite Christmas season songs!
    Here's a you tube link:
    http://youtu.be/57l6dSbVppM

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's so cute!

    And WHOA! That last picture reminds me so very very much of one of your boys!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So cute! And Jenni beat me to it - I was going to say I immediately thought of "The Holly and the Ivy" :-) I think it is a little over-the-top but it's a Christmas dress, they're supposed to be like that!

    ReplyDelete
  4. The cuteness! She looks gorgeous in her new frock. I love the print. It's a little large in scale for the dress, but it totally works. My favorite part is that little tuck of plaid on the bonnet.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Jenny - which boy? So far she favors Malachi quite a bit in looks although she is starting to look a lot more like Judah!

    Thanks for your positive comments. I think one reason I don't totally love it is because of the big white puritan-ish-looking collar. Maybe if I take off the collar the dress will look better. Because the white collar hides some of the print, which jars the dress. . .

    ReplyDelete
  6. My first several ideas for comments all sounded like kidnapping threats.

    I have no intention of kidnapping your adorable baby!

    But a good snuggle would be lovely :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a beautiful little one! She is just so cute! :) I think "Baby, It's Christmas" makes for an adorable little play on words.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'm not sure, but I've seen that exact face at the exact angle on one of your boys a while back. Probably Malachi... I'll search your archives and see if I can find it later :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I was going to say the same thing, Jenni! The Holly and the Ivy would be perfect, and it is such a beautiful song. :)

    ReplyDelete
  10. If her happy face is to go by, I'd say Anne likes the dress!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh dear, you know what gets me the most? Her expressions! She's just the prettiest!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I love the dress and bonnet! She looks darling and really it doesn't look bad at all :-)

    I hope you have a very merry Christmas my friend!

    ReplyDelete
  13. She's so cute I can't even stand it! The dress isn't bad either. Seriously, I think your use of the vintage tablecloth for this dress is genius. And nobody else has anything like it. Fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  14. The photo second from the end definitely looks like Malachi, I think! And I like the big white collar; I think you should leave it :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Your baby is just beautiful! Ilike the bonnet. The dress is so well made. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  16. What a beautiful baby! She loves her dress and bonnet and says all that in her smile. She is Christmas card perfection in her new dress!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for your lovely thoughts!