Just in time for cooler weather (hey! low 70s is cooler around here!) I decided that Elizabeth needed a few new dresses. I've done three this weekend - The 'why-did-i-ever-buy-this-fabric' dress, the 'very-nearly-free' school uniform style dress, and the Little House on the Prairie dress. Here's the 'why-did-i-ever-buy-this-fabric' one!

 This pattern is my own personal go-to pattern. When there's a play-dress needed, this is what I use for wovens. It is Simplicity 2377. When I bought it, Elizabeth wore a 2. So I also have Simplicity 5695, which is the smaller sizes and fewer options version. I've made both but this is the first one I've made with the next size built in.

See, I sew for keeps. And play-dresses are kind of a dime a dozen. But I *know* that before winter's end Elizabeth is going to be firmly in a pattern 4. She's already in a store-bough 4t due to being a tall little person (she's just topped 36 inches tall. It's genetic!) And come to find out, this print of fabric is one I really like, tho it matches NOTHING on planet Earth except the other two fabrics in the series (which are both awful and hideous equally busy prints.)

So this little dress is sewn to a size three but cut to a size four! HA! Smarty pants Mommy!
 There are some pretty glaring changes that I made to the pattern. One is the shirring at the neck. There's very little of it, but it looks different from the pattern because of it. Also, the ultra-deep hem. About and inch and a half of it shows, but there is another inch folded over within that. And the sleeves did not get the elastic either. I decided that while the shirring is easy and the casings are easy, I am LAZY. Or I could blame it on wanting to be able to layer it in really cold weather (and shut it! 32 degrees Fahrenheit is COLD!)

 She wore this dress to playschool today and the Center Director pointed out the color of the month to her. They have a color focus for each month, and I think I may be a sneaky-pete and make a few more multi-colored dresses so she's nearly always wearing the color of the month. Next week, I'll show you the Little House on the Prairie dress that I made so she's got two days worth of brown to wear. Brown is this month's color and she only had one little Old Navy shirt in brown. Problem SOLVED.
 And here's just a couple of more pictures of my bubble-master girl. Another lovely thing about this dress - it doesn't show the bubble drips too much! Bet you didn't even know they were there, did you?