War Eagle Norah Dress!

Some of you may already know this about me, but I am an Auburn fan.  For others, you may have no idea what that means.  I'll try to explain it briefly.

You see, I grew up in Alabama where there is a huge football rivalry between the two major universities in the state:  Auburn University and the other school, the University of Alabama.  When I was a little girl, it was a family tradition for my family to go to the home football games in Auburn and tailgate before the game.  We would picnic, walk up to the bookstore to buy a game t-shirt or some other item emblazoned with the AU symbol, toss around a nerf football for a while, and then walk on over to the game.  At the time, I cared little for the game itself and mainly wanted to see and hear the band at halftime.  This is where I first dreamed of becoming a majorette and twirling a baton while wearing a sparkly, sequined uniform.  But I digress.

Auburn is where I (as well as my mother, father, brother, and sister-in-law) attended college and where my brother and his family now live.  It's more than just a town or a university to me.   It's a place where I first lived on my own, dated my husband, and made friends I'll have for the rest of my life. It's a place where a lifetime of good memories for me were formed.  And while I may not always know the name of every football player on the team or even who they are playing next week, I am as much a fan as ever and always will be.

So come January 6th, 2014, I'll be watching the BCS National Championship game rooting yet again for my Auburn Tigers to win!  I wish my mom and dad (but especially my dad because he was a HUGE Auburn football fan) were still alive to see it, too.

Now, you might ask what all this Auburn football talk has to do with another Norah Dress.  Well, I have a friend who asked me recently to make an Auburn dress for her niece.  I've been hoarding this adorable orange and blue tiger head and polka dot fabric from Fabric Finders forever!  Since we don't live near Auburn or ever get to go to the games, I hadn't used it to make Ella a dress.  I was super excited to finally sew with it and make it into this adorable reversible War Eagle Norah Dress version for that special little girl!

As you may have seen yesterday, I made Ella a Christmas dress using the Norah Dress pattern from Welcome to the Mouse House.  While the pattern provides you with instructions on how to make a partial lining for the dress, I chose to fully line (or make reversible) this sleeveless version in the Auburn fabric and a navy/white flower print on the reverse.

This pattern is a joy to sew with and super simple.  No zippers or buttonholes to make.

I'm even considering making a reversible version with a collar that could flip to either side.  Again, I'm impressed with everything about the Norah Dress pattern from the pattern pieces and instructions themselves, to the styling options, to the fit.  It's a pattern that should be in every seamstresses' collection.

I think this 2T version may be a slightly big on the little girl for the upcoming game, but I hope it fits her perfectly for the Auburn football season all next year.

War Eagle! Hey!

Summer Fun Dress Version 2

Remember this really simple, Summer Fun Dress I made for Ella a couple of weeks ago?  And remember that I told you how easy it is to mix this dress up and embellish it in different ways for a varied and unique look?  Well, I wanted to show you how I made another Summer Fun Dress, this time in a size 2T for a my friend's little cutie pie Auburn fan.

First of all, I wanted to test the measurements I had come up with for a size 2T.  I think it worked out well for her little girl (you'll have to take my word for it because I don't have any pictures of her modeling it)!  As I mentioned in the pattern, I recommend you measure your child's chest to get a more precise fit for the elastic top.  In this case, the little 18 month old girl has the same size chest and nearly same size waist as my 3 1/2 year old!  So, I used the little girl's chest measurement minus 1" for a comfortable fit (I used 20").  

Here's my 3 1/2 year old, Ella, modeling it for you.  It's really too short for her as a dress, but she could actually wear it with leggings or jeans for a cute fall outfit.  In fact, she has already put in an order for one exactly like it!

Ella is roughly 8 or 9" taller than the intended wearer, so I am thinking that the length should be just right for the other cutie pie!

Here's what I did differently for the Summer Fun Dress Version 2:

   1.  No ruffle at the top
   2.  Added two rows of shirring roughly 4 to 4 1/2" from the top so it falls just above the natural waist.

Shirring just above waist

   3.  Made ties out of ribbon (make sure to add fray check to the ends) to tie at the shoulder instead of around the neck
   4.  No decorative vertical strip (I added the specified width of fabric for the decorative strip back to the width of fabric required for the main fabric)
   5.  No hem strip (I added the specified width of fabric for the hem strip to the length of fabric required for the main fabric)
   6.  Attached jumbo orange ric rac to the hem of the dress.

Ric Rac Hem

Version 2 was even easier to make than the first!  Another plus about this dress is that it can be worn year round by simply adding a white t-shirt underneath and pairing it with leggings or jeans.  And, when your child grows, the fit is so forgiving that she can still wear the dress as a top!  This piece of clothing could potentially fit the same girl for 2 or 3 years!

Now my friend's little girl is ready to attend all those fall Auburn football games in style!  Go get 'em Tigers!