Smocked Top

I made this top with some more of the left over blue fabric from the Easter dress.  Now all the blue is gone. 

Finished the smocking earlier this week and finally got around to making the top (which was already cut out) yesterday.  It took me about 3 1/2 hours, maybe 4, including making the piping (cutting the bias tape and screwing up twice).  Turned out really cute and works well with the little bolero jacket too.

Isabele wasn't doing a great job of posing, and I forgot to wash her face, and she had wiped a bunch of water off her face earlier with the skirt of the top and got it all wrinkled.  I'm trying really hard to not have too many rules for play when she's wearing what I make (since I want her to wear what I make).  So, ignore the girl and just look at the top.

 The back is really cute.  There's a double row of 1 inch elastic in casing to gather up the fabric.  I'm also practicing a "perfect shash tying" way of tying ribbons and bows.  It lays much flatter and more even than the shoe way of tying a bow.

Isabele's Easter Dress 2014

I finished the dress last week.  I had extra fabric to make a bolero jacket, but the pattern I had wasn't going to work.  I got some new patterns while we were out of town over the weekend.  One of them had the perfect pattern, calling for the types of fabrics I used for the dress, so I made the jacket last night and this morning.  I think the jacket took me about 5 hours.  It too is fully lined.

Here are some pictures of Isabele wearing, twirling and playing in it.

Dress and jacket.

 The jacket doesn't stay put when she spins.  Not sure if I'm going to add a hook or button or leave it alone.

 

 Twirling without the jacket.

 

 My cutie.

 

 Looking grown up and like the little girl that she is all at the same time.

 

 

And what good is a new dress, if you can't play a bit in the sand too?

 

And that is why I machine washed and dried the fabric before I made the outfit.