“Retro”post from 2008:

I’d been dreaming about children’s dresses with flower skirts for quite a while, and finally had a reason to make them.  Earlier this past winter, I felt inspired to actively design a line of children’s dresses inspired by flowers and bugs.  These two are the first two prototypes.

I wanted a soft look to the skirts, almost a watercolor, a hint of color.  So each skirt is a full circle skirt of a heavier bridal satin with four layers of white tulle.  The top most tulle later of each has glittered dots reminiscent of dew drops shaking down from the “flowers”.  One is a lavender pansy, and the other a pink rose.  Each is made of six petals cut in the shape of their respective flowers (though only a couple of the pansy’s leaves would be this shape, and there are five on a real pansy), and well as the sepals.  The sepals are on top of the petals.  The satin is narrow-hemmed, and the tulle pinked (cut with zig-zag scissors) for a soft look.  The bodices are simple to keep the focus on the skirts.  Each zips up the back with matching invisible zippers, and at the waists, contrasting ribbons.  Each includes a small posy of silk flowers to tuck into the ribbons, to carry, or to put in the hair.

The finished Pansy and Rose Dewdrop dresses:

The lack of smoothness in the bodice is due to the bushed behind not being smooth.  The “dew drops” on the skirts just wouldn’t photograph with my camera.

The insides are neatly finished, very smooth and with no rough or scratchy serged edge scratch against a child’s delicate skin.