Insignia Go Go Toddler Dress

At first I was slightly bummed about the announcement to do a chevron themed PR&P week because I felt that I have already done my best work with chevron print I used to make Ty's Easter Dress (Pleated Shindig Chevron Dress) last season.

I was tempted to just sit a week out of the sew along, because I knew I couldn't beat it. But then I remembered one of my favorite quotes. "You miss 100% of the shots you never take."  So I sent Samson and the kids around JoAnn's to put any and all chevron prints in the cart. We we met up again once he had found the fabric and I had some patterns. I searched for something mellow, but still complimentary to go with the chevron fabric. This is what I picked.

I had quite a few options, but my favorite was the black and white chevron paired with the gray, black, white, and yellow bird print. Once I knew what fabric I was using, it was easy to pick the style of dress. I chose to use Simplicity 1704 HH by Suede says as my pattern.

 

It was a pretty easy choice to use this pattern to make a Go-Go, color block dress with a removable peter pan collar for Ty once I knew what fabric I was using. I wanted something that looked nice, but was an outfit that could be played and worn any old day. Not only are peter pan collars and chevron print big right now, so are exposed zippers. I think they are most fitting with casual wear. I got a yellow zipper to help bring out the bit of yellow in the top of the dress. I've never done an exposed zipper before, but it was super simple and I think helped bring the outfit to the next level. I will definitely do one again, especially while I wait for a zipper foot.

Scary thought that maybe the peter pan collar should be reversible so that if the chevron print collar was too crazy, I could always use the yellow side. The only issue was that I hadn't bought this fabric when we were at the fabric store, I didn't have a car, and had already spent my sewing budget for the month. So I dug into my scraps that I have for quilting and found some yellow fabric. Since it was scraps I had to piece it together to make my collar. It was pretty noticeable that it was pieced so I came up with a plan that would draw your eyes away from the seams.

First I took a picture of my peter pan collar so that I could get the right shape and curvature. If I had my scanner here in Chicago instead of Idaho, I would have used it instead. Then I took the picture into Silhouette and used the curvy line to follow the basic outline of the collar. After I did that I had to fine tune it so it was a more exact fit. Then I looked at all the bird and branch images on my computer and on the Silhouette website.

The image I chose reminds me of the fabric. The biggest problems were that it was a fairly linear image and that I needed it to have balance, but I preferred it to not be symmetrical. It took hours to get it just to the point where I was satisfied and I thought it looked realistic. At this point it was ready to cut onto freezer paper and apply to my collar piece before sewing it together (and yes, I really do love the freezer paper stencil trick).

I used craft paint to leave the image of the birds and heat set it when the paint had dried and the paper was removed. It's a happy accident that I had a yellow peter pan collar that I had to piece and apply an image to. I love it, but I just can't decide which side of the collar I love more.

As much as I loved my previous chevron dress, I love this one. It's simple, but perfect for my 2.5 year-old that can't sit still, loves to sing Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree, is friendly to EVERYONE, and is scared of teeny tiny little ants. It is an absolute fit of her personality; it is perfection.

Here are more of our chevron projects:

Waves of Summer Reversible Tunic

Pleated Shindig Chevron Dress

Blue Skies Smiling at Me Summer Jumper

One last thing before I sign off, this month our theme for our link ups are about parenting and kids. This week is about teaching old dogs to play new tricks (Jokes, Pranks, April Fools Day Traditions and Fun). I just wanted to share a few of my tricks of getting good pictures of my kids after I have finished a project.

1. The best pictures are the candid ones, so don't expect them to smile perfectly all the time (that's when you get the fake cheesy smiles and one angle images).
2. It doesn't take very long before they get sick of taking pictures so I try to make it fun by singing songs with like "If you're happy and you know it." We also like to play pretend that Swiper the Fox is coming to get us. What you do will depend on your child's personality and stage.
3. Regardless if you get bad pictures, just keep snapping the camera so that you can go back and delete them after the shoot if they are blurry or washed out. Somewhere amongst those will be good pictures.
4. Figure out your camera settings and lighting before you expect them to really perform because you have about a 15 minute patience window before they are totally done.
5. Make sure you and your child are having fun!!!

We'd love to see any link ups you might have. We are hoping to create a resource that all parents can turn to as they make discoveries or have struggles with raising their children!

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