Ottobre 02/2005-12

My little princess is starting preschool this year, and all of her summer dresses are too short! Time for some back to school sewing!

First up is this little dress from the 02/2005 issue of Ottobre. It is design #12, the "linen dress" featured on the cover. I mostly chose it for it's simplicity, and because we have always had good luck with peasant style, elasticated dresses for Myra.

The fabric is from Fashion Fabrics Club. It was billed as a cotton shirting, but it is definitely more poly than cotton and is very sheer. It's pretty though, and that is all that Myra cares about...

The bodice details show a little of the construction. I added a little ribbon trim to the front bodice, as it was a bit boring on it's own. I was surprised that the lower edge of the armhole isn't bound with bias, but the plain hem looks good and was really easy to do. In fact, the whole dress, from trace to finish, took just over an hour to sew. Win!

The fabric was really too sheer on its own, so I underlined the bodice and lined the skirt with Imperial batiste. It adds a nice weight to the dress and keeps it modest.

It twirls nicely and Myra really likes it. There may be another in her future, or at the very least, the top version. Cute and quick are a win in my book!

Can we go to school now?