Birthdays are always special so the first birthday of our first granddaughter requires a special handmade birthday dress from Grandma. The fabric was a no-brainer for me – I used a gorgeous blue linen from the Canadian linen shop, Pure Linen Envy. I couldn’t wait to sew with it and it didn’t disappoint!
Baby sewing considerations I felt a lot of pressure as my first dress for Baby. Since the event was in late summer, it was hard to know if it would be screeeeching hot or starting to cool as it does. However, I knew the linen that would be fine if it was hot, but also could have a little sweater on top if needed. So, bare arms were good too for the same reason. Bare arms also made it easier for fitting. I wasn’t sure how much she would grow though so I didn’t want to make it too far in advance.
The Pattern from Little Lizard King
Since I was using Linen, I looked for a pattern for wovens. I finally settled on the Versailles Baby pattern from Little Lizard King (LLK). LLK has such a huge variety of beautiful dress patterns for wovens that it was so hard to choose. I looked at their Facebook page though to get inspiration and that was incredible! So many talented sewists there and so many delightful and creative ideas!
Birthday Dress – Front
From the options, I selected the double flutter sleeves I wanted something simple to accentuate the lovely fabric. I love the way the front is simple and yet the flutters add so much. The bodice is lined so I used the linen for inside too. The arm holes were lovely and wide but did not gape. Perfect for baby.
Perhaps the gathers were not exactly even, but it would take a really close inspection to detect. I’m good with that. The thread was slightly darker but I think it is okay too.
I like the band across the front although that also was an option.
Birthday Dress – Back
So the back is where most of the accessorization happened. First off, the flutter sleeves extended across the back to the edge of the closure and draped across her back just lovely. I had to make the gusset for the bottom of the button placket which gave me a good few re-reads to figure out. All good though and instructions were great.
Finally, the sash. I’m so glad I opted to add the sash. It was so perfect on her and allowed a more customized fit.
Kamsnaps for the Win
I went with kamsnaps instead of buttons and may never sew on another button in my life! lol. Kamsnaps are just great with my press and masses of colour choices available. I found that a two-toned flower one that was just a perfect match for the Azure linen.
I also ended up making a small matching bow for her hair. There are many many YouTube tutorials for hair bows and the fabric was great for it. I attached it to a hair clip and her Mum clipped it onto her little ponytail.
Well, that was it! She had a lovely outside party at her parents’ house with many visitors appropriately distancing. The day was sweltering but she seemed fine in her cool outfit.
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