Sirenita's First Easter Outfit part 1: The dress

A month or so ago I had the revelation that Sirenita should have something a little more special than a knit carter's dress for Easter. I don't have anything against Carters, but... I remember one year having an Easter dress that I particularly loved... I got to pick the fabric (I don't think that happened to often) and the pattern. I remember going to church in that dress, my new sparkling white patten leather dress shoes (the ones all little girls wore at that time) and to top it off, I had a new purse, lace gloves, and a hat. It was actually warm in Ohio that year. It still sticks out to me. There aren't many times when a little girl really gets to dress up and go out in this world we live in. So when those opportunities come along, we've got to seize them and make the most of them, right? That is why Sirenita deserves more than a generic knit dress. So I set about the process of "going all out" for Sirenita's first Easter. I'm almost done, I just need a bow to match. And to sew her Easter basket together.

The fabric was easy to find. The pattern not so much.I  had seen a keyhole dress with a heart shaped hole in the back years ago, and I thought it would be adorable. It's always warm here at Easter, so a keyhole sundress would be nice.
Not being exactly confident that my sewing skills were up to the task ahead of me, I decided to hunt out a tutorial and try a sample dress before I risked ruining the fabric I bought for her dress.  I found an absolutely wonderful Keyhole dress

 tutorial. I had never made a lined bodice before, so I had to learn that too. This same blogger has an awesome lined bodice tutorial, as well. Now I knew that I had the skill to make the dress, but I still couldn't get the size quite right. As awesome as her tutorials are, there isn't a pattern and the ones I made just didn't cut it.  
Finally I found "The Party Dress" from The Cottage Mama. I think it is probably the ultimate in little girl's classic dresses. It's so easy, and so cute. It took me a few hours to put my "test" dress together. It's a little big for Sirenita, but come summer it'll be perfect.

The Cottage Mama's tutorial and pattern are free (If you join her facebook page or her newsletter) and so easy to use. I was able to adapt them easily to create my keyhole dress. Since Sirenita is almost crawling, I opted to leave off the contrast stripe down at the bottom. It worked out better because I really, really wanted to use this ribbon I picked up as the sash. Instead of cutting four pieces for the back part of the bodice, I just cut two and I cut them on the fold like the front. I also only cut two pieces for the skirt, one front and one back. I didn't need the extra slit in the skirt since I have a big open heart on the back. I put in my keyhole when I sewed the neckline, and did everything else just like the Party dress tutorial said. I think it came out wonderfully, and I can't wait for Sirenita to wear it on Easter!

This is just the first part of her outfit, because I believe in going all out if you're going to dress a little girl up... As I just discovered. Stay tuned, posts on the rest of the outfit coming soon!