Fawn Lily Dress sewn by Golden Rippy

School is back in session for us. BOO! No, I’m kidding…I love the break. I get a lot of sewing done. Wink. But I heard Willow & Co was challenging people to sew up a back to school wardrobe. And while only one of my kiddos is in school at the moment (heaven, help me) I thought I would make all of them some clothes. I took this opportunity to fill in the gaps in their wardrobe by sewing up some of the patterns I bought from Willow & Co. I picked the Persimmon Dress, Fawn Lily Dress (that I want in my size…hint hint, or I’m going to draft it myself), and the Kudzu pants for the boys.

Today is my little review of the Fawn Lily Dress. (Stay tuned for the other outfits in following posts)

I love this pattern. But don’t try to sew it while you’re tired. I skipped a step and ended up having to hand stitch the lining into the sleeves. Not that I mind…I like handstitching. But still. I made it a lot more work than it actually is.

I matched the chevrons too. Did you notice? 😉

What I adore most about it is the sleeves. So different. I love it. It reminds me of this dress I love that costs about 300…hah, that’s not happening.

And I also love all the options, one of which is the crossover front. No zipper required! For those days when you’re completely lazy and don’t want to hunt for the zipper foot for your machine. Which is totally me this month…okay, every month. 😉

I picked a dress length because little missy needs more dresses. Every time I turn around she grows 5 inches. This will probably fit her like a top by Christmas-time.

I used a fat quarter for the sleeves and the chevron inset. I lined the sleeves and bodice in white cotton because it’s still 90 degrees here, so I wanted her to be cool.

And I used white cotton because I wanted to try out a technique I learned over the weekend. I went to a quilt show on Saturday to turn in my block for the Nevada Quilt (celebrating our 150 years of statehood…Battle Born!). My friend Pam showed me how to make a crayon quilt. And then I thought to myself, “This has potential!” And that’s when I realized I had to use this on a dress for missy.

“Back-to-school” screams CRAYONS!

Here’s the jist of it. You crayon on a white piece of fabric, cover it with a paper towel and iron over it at with the cotton setting. It sets the colors and any extra comes off onto the paper towel.

I free-handed some koi and water lilies onto the skirt before I sewed it. Five koi. Five is a lucky number in China, and missy is the 5th member of our family. Awww.

She loved it! She’s even wearing it again today. 🙂

Any time I can’t get her to pose is a good sign…she’s too busy enjoying it. 🙂

And there is such a thing as over-designing, so I left the back more subdued and simple.  It’s perfect.

Cutie-kins.

 Resources:

Sleeve fabric is Amy Butler from Craftsy, orange chevron is from JoAnn fabrics and white is bleached cotton muslin. Pattern is Fawn Lily from Willow & Co. Yes, I bought all my own supplies. Lol, twist my arm…I love to buy fabric.

Happy Sewing!