Megan's Dress

Calder has a little friend named Megan who had her first birthday party this weekend I adore Megan's mom and since she is also a seamstress I wanted to do something she would appreciate. So, I whipped up this dress using Simplicity 2574. 

I added an apron to the front and tried my hand at smocking! I LOVE smocking and am currently trying to smock everything I can get my hands on. 

 I found this fabric at a sweet little fabric store called Cottonseed Glory in Annapolis, Maryland. I only bought 1/2 yard of each with the intention of making a dress out of it. I wish I would have bought more. Why do I always wish I had bought more?

 Smocking is one of those things that looks hard but really isn't. My grandma gave my aunt her gathering machine. My aunt didn't use it for a while and handed it on to me with the hope that I would use it. I am so thankful to have this awesome machine.

This is what the machine looks like. I'll give a step by step on how to use it if anyone is interested. It looks like you can still find the machine around. It's a bit pricey but you can also pleat by hand. I'll talk more about smocking another time. Lets get back to Megan's dress.

 Here's the back. I wanted to do an interesting closure so I used fabric eyelets and did a corset back. I love it. And it will allow Megan to wear it for a long time. I think she could even wear it as a shirt when she is older. I only know this because Calder tried it on for me. (Don't tell his dad)