A Geranium Inspired Dress

So I've had a major crush on Rae's Geranium dress ever since she released it but I haven't bought it since Peyton is past size 5 which is as high as her pattern goes.  Each time someone in blog land makes one I get a bit more sad about not being able to make one.  So I decided to make my own version.  I found this Simplicity pattern #5226 and thought with some pattern tweaks I could re-create the essence of what I liked about the dress.  (One other thought, if big pattern makers would just work on the pictures and fabric used on the front of their packages, they'd sell lots more patterns I think. This one is not good at all but I could see past the "lovey" print and look at the construction.  I didn't used to be able to do that!!)

Out of all the Geranium dress versions I've seen my favorite is by Jess.  I loved the print she used and conveniently enough my local quilt shop had this lovely fabric by Lotta Jansdotter!  

Here are my adjustments to the pattern to make it Geranium-esque.  First I mainly used the slip dress pattern.  But I wanted the button closure so I used the front button bodice piece and blended it with the back bodice piece of the slip dress.  I used the sleeves on the slip dress too and eliminated the ruffle at the bottom.  I made my own bias tape with a coordinate from the same line.

I am very happy with how it turned out, my biggest mistake was making it a size too big.  I measured her and she fit the 6 but I sometimes have trouble with her out-growing the tops of her dresses if they are too fitted so I made the 7.  I should have stuck with the 6, but we'll get a lot of wear out of this dress since it is quite roomy! :)

I am happy with my attempt for a geranium knock-off but I will definitely buy the pattern if she puts it out in bigger sizes!! Hint Hint Rae, if you ever read this!

Carter jumped into this picture, he wants to pose with Peyton whenever I am taking pics for the blog.  I guess I should sew more for him! We've had a very springy week here which has been amazing!  I am getting ready for a major garage sale (like over 13 bins of kids clothes to sort and price) so I don't see a huge amount of sewing for a couple of weeks but I can't wait to unload some stuff!  

 Hope everyone enjoy's a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with lots of hugs from your kiddos!