I wanted to sew something up for my daughter as an easter dress this year. I should really call it a spring dress because all three times she was supposed to wear it, including easter, the weather or sickness got in the way. This photoshoot a couple of days ago was the first time she actually put it on. I am really going to have to get used to this Denver spring thing. It's quite the tease with 80 degree weather one day and a snowstorm the next. They say you really arn't safe until after mother's day so I guess we are not in the clear yet.
I bought the
Mori dress as soon as it was released because it was exactly the type of dress I had been looking for to make for my daughter. I wanted something that resembled the peasant like dresses that I wore as a child. Simple shapes and ruffles. Something that I could add pompoms to and maybe some embroidery to look like a lot of the Mexican inspired dresses I am seeing so much of right now.
For the fabric, I chose some
cloud 9 organic cotton.
that I picked up at JoAnns. It has a nice texture to it that resembles an open weave that gave it the more handmade look I was going for. I chose this orangey-red that is my absolute favorite color and so hard to find. I will say though that I was very tempted by their
mustard color as well. I also picked up some natural colored small
pom pom trim. for some edging.
The dress is really straight forward and has great directions. The bodice is fully lined and the skirt is left unlined. I did make a few changes. The most notable is that I did not face the sleeves. I found that on most of the versions I saw, that the sleeves looked a little heavier than I wanted. I like the idea of fluttery ruffled sleeves. My fabric is also not the thinnest (it's a quilting cotton weight) so I knew that it would be too bulky if I lined it. Instead I turned it under at 1/4" twice and then added the pompoms to the edge.
If I were to sew it again, I would sew it up in a much lighter weight fabric, like a voile. I would line both the bodice and skirt, but leave the sleeves one layer. I would also like to try shortening the sleeve ruffle to about half of its width at the shoulder. I think it would just look more summery and casual. I have visions of making the dress up in a light cotton gauze, with some embroidery on the bodice. Hopefully I can find the time to make that happen.
