Give Me Liberty

I've had my eye (in a favorable way) on Liberty fabrics for a long while. I've also had my eye (in a not-so-favorable way) on their price! It still boggles my mind a bit that fabric can be quite that expensive! 

And then, my chance came -- a Liberty print was going out of stock on Fabric.com, and was greatly reduced. It's a standard cotton, so it was on the lower end of the price spectrum to begin with. I snatched up some Lifestyle Stile Collection Herbert in green and pink and squirreled it away, with plans to make it into a dress for Rosa. Fast forward nearly a year, and the fabric was still awaiting its incarnation. Because actually starting a project means failure may be imminent, and the more I like a fabric, the less excited I am about the prospect of failure. 

But, at very long last, here it is:

It came out as more of a tunic than a dress, since Rosa grew quite a bit between the time of purchase and the time of creation! But I'm glad I waited, because two other fabrics came into my possession during that interval. The first was a lovely white empire-waist blouse that I found for $1. It was a stretch when I bought it -- there were so many things about it the just didn't work for me (a tad too snug, not nursing friendly, sheer enough to need an undershirt), but the bottom edge of the tunic was so beautifully embroidered that I couldn't resist. And, lo and behold, it made the perfect "petticoat" layer for Rosa's Liberty dress!

The second fabric came from a dress that my Mom, knowing my love for linen, passed on to me when she was done with it. It's the loveliest shade of pink, it matches the Liberty fabric perfectly, and it's a linen-silk blend. A linen-silk blend, my friends! Two of the most glorious fabrics combined in one perfect union! All right, that's a bit dramatic. But I'm definitely a fan. 

I altered Burda's Ruffle Top for babies for my purposes -- I'm still trying to figure out sizing on this one! I made the largest size (supposed to be 24 months), and it was quite wide on my average sized 2 1/2 year old. Anyway, I adjusted the bodice and drafted a skirt piece to match.

Pintucks on the bodice, because Liberty fabric deserves something special! I'm usually too impatient to do tucks.

I changed the sleeves to 3/4 length, and obviously did my own thing with cuffs, bands, piping, and collar.

I had just enough fabric to make a pair of bloomers to go underneath. I forget what pattern I used, but it was a standard Big 4 pattern -- bloomers are pretty forgiving!

This was my last project before we moved, and as it turns out, the timing was perfect -- the day before Resurrection Sunday I realized that Rosa had no "Easter dress," but this fit the bill! I'm not into Easter dresses per say, but it was nice to have something fresh and Springy for such a joyous day.

And now I've had my Liberty -- though I can't say I'd object to more in the future!