Two years ago, I decided to make matching Easter outfits for the whole fam. There were only three of us then, but considering I only made this decision a few days before Easter, I really had my work cut out for me. I busted my butt over several days to get our matching Easter outfits and I had so much fun that I decided I wanted to make it a yearly tradition.
However, the outfits were thwarted last year because I was due right around Easter and didn’t know if I should plan my dress around being pregnant or not. In the end, I just decided not to make anything which ended up being the best choice because Greta was born early and I spent my Easter snuggling my new baby wearing something that I’m certain wasn’t a dress.
I was excited to get back in the game this year and I’ve had lots of different ideas and a fair amount of setbacks. But now I’ve got three out of four items finished. The only thing left is my dress and I’m really hoping that it turns out because I’ve already had one total fail. Since I like you guys, I’ll show you the picture of the fail:
The bodice turned out pretty good, but when I paired it with the skirt, I really felt like the whole thing was vibing very boring Mother-of-the-bride. So I bought new fabric and am going a totally different route and I’m hoping it turns out!
Meanwhile, I’m really happy with how the girls’ dresses turned out!
Wendy’s dress is probably one of my favorite things that I’ve ever made:
The making of this dress just went so smoothly. It was a little bit miraculous, if you ask me! I was able to do the drafting, cutting, and sewing in less than two nap times. There was zero unpicking. It went so well that I was certain the dress wouldn’t fit, just because something had to go wrong, right? But no! The dress fit really well and looks so cute on that sweet girl!
I almost woke Wendy up from her nap to make her try it on for me because I was so excited about it!
Drafting the pattern for this dress was fairly easy. I used a dress that Wendy already has to draft the bodice front and back as well as the sleeves. For the skirt, I just measured Wendy’s tummy, bum and the circumference of where I wanted the skirt to hit around her knees. And the peplum was drafted like a circle skirt, just not quite as full. I might be making another one of these dresses and if I do, I’ll document the whole process and blog about it.
The neck hole is big enough and has enough stretch that she can just pull the whole thing over her head-no closures required, so that’s super nice. The fabric is a scuba knit that I got from Joann’s. Scuba knit is something I’ve always wanted to work with. It is kind of a funky fabric and took some getting used to as well as some solid tips from my mom. But I sewed everything directly on my serger which made it a breeze.
It is the best feeling to have a successful make! Especially one that was made totally from scratch 🙂 (P.S. taking photos of toddlers is not always successful but is always an adventure:)
Greta’s dress was almost completely drafted using a dress she already had. I used the same shape and everything, just had to come up with some facing for the neck opening, which was the only way I could make the fabric stretchy enough to go over her head.
Blurry picture, sorry! The fabric for her dress was actually a misprint from Raspberry Creek Fabrics. It’s a quilted jacquard, but they printed on the wrong side. The quilted look still comes through so it doesn’t really bother me. I love the floral print on this and all the colors! I thought the quilted jacquard would look super cute as a raglan, but I didn’t think a raglan dress would really match the vibe of Wendy’s dress so I chose not to do a raglan for this particular project. BUT there is enough left over that I’m sure I could get a shirt for me or definitely one of the girls.
And I’m pretty sure this is my first time buying fabric online! This is the only cut I’ve sewn something out of but the rest of the fabric seems amazing so hopefully I have more projects to share with you soon!
Do you guys buy or make new outfits for Easter? I think it’s an awesome opportunity to get something new and colorful for the warmer weather. This year I’ve had fun making dresses for the girls and I’m glad I powered through with some of my ideas. Anyhow, if nothing else, at least the girls will have dresses and Ben will have a tie. But here’s to hoping my dress turns out too!
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