Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Two Blue Dresses

In January, deep in covid-cautiousness, my sister got married. It was a delight to dress up again and celebrate! Phoebe was the flower girl, although as soon as she said "flower fairy," the title stuck. My sister said we should choose whatever dress we wanted (I have the best sister and she was never, not even for one second, a bridezilla). I had a delicious deep dive on winter flower girl dresses, developing a vision that suited all parties: dressy but not out of regular church-wear, wintry but not black or white, flexible with whatever other colors appeared at the wedding. . . I used a simple Prussian blue cotton from my stash. I found a gorgeous net sequin fabric for the overskirt at JoAnn's as well as pink satin to line the bolero. For cold weather, she wears the bolero. For warm weather, it's a sundress! I wanted to give Phoebe as many chances as possible to enjoy wearing her dress, but wanted it to look appropriate in any season. At that time, I could not predict when we would be going out in nice clothes again and I did not want any more nice clothes hanging sadly in our closets, especially the handmade ones. 
 I thought I could just gather two rectangles of the net fabric into a black ribbon and tie the overskirt on at the sides, but it ended up being too heavy so I basted it onto the waistline for the wedding. 

Phoebe and I are both so pleased with this dress! She has indeed worn it in all its iterations since January.


The second blue dress is a school uniform dress. I added some light blue topstitching to liven things up. It has a deep hem, so I'm planning to let it out as Phoebe gets taller. I love Peter Pan collars and here with the puffed sleeves, it's such a charming retro look. 
I had all the supplies in my stash! When my older kids were starting school, I laid in a supply of fabric that would work for uniforms. Our district currently does uniforms until 6th grade and I think that is just right: let the little kids scramble into a prescribed uniform, let the big kids define their own style as they fledge into adulthood.

Phoebe is really the only child I sew for any more. I feel like I live with three other adults and a child! In fact, Genevieve turned 16 this week, oh my word. Such is the speed of life....

19 comments:

Jennifer Jo said...

That is NOT Genevieve! No way. No. THAT person is your photos is not a child --- she's a stunning young woman. And a queenly one at that. Goodness!

Nancy In Boise said...

Wow you did such a great job! That's really great to have some flexible dresses like that with a bolero top

sillygirl said...

And your children wear "bespoke" clothing!

Margo said...

Haha, and that photo of G is from January! (The second photo on the post is my sister the bride - I don't think you got them confused) Look at my Instagram if you dare and you'll get a bigger shock when you see 16-y-o Genevieve, hahahaha!! But this is also true of your big beautiful offspring, too. . . ugh, time. . .

Margo said...

Thank you! I kinda want a bolero now, too.

Margo said...

Oh my word, I never put it in those terms, but yes :) :)

e said...

Both dresses turned out so well! And, how great that Phoebe is wearing them. I love how flexible the flower fairy ensemble is - sure to improve the 'number of wears vs effort to create' ratio.

It's startling how fast they grow up. Sigh.

Leisha said...

Phoebe looks gorgeous in her bespoke dress . Have 16th birthday to Genevieve .

Christy said...

It is so special you sew for your girl.

Becky said...

The dresses are lovely. I can't believe how big all your kids are! Time flies. Happy Birthday G. 16? Really? I thought she just became a teenager last year?

Margo said...

Well, in my mind your girl is still in high school ;)

Margo said...

It's such a pleasure for me

Margo said...

Thank you! And yes, I can't get over the speed of childhood...

Margo said...

Thank you!

BLD in MT said...

I had a similar reaction to G in that first photo. :) She's matured so much and is, as mentioned, quite a beauty.

BLD in MT said...

I learned a new word here and that always thrills me. Bespoke! That's new to me.

Good job, Margo. Both dresses are fab. The versatility of the flower fairy dress! That's so smart. The uniform dress looks like one I'd rock myself!

Margo said...

Thanks, Beth! I do kinda want a navy dress with a Peter Pan collar too.

A glimpse of my kitchen said...

Congratulations on your sisters wedding! You did a great job. The dresses you made are beautiful.

Bluestocking said...

Oh, those gap-toothed grins are some of the best, aren't they!