She wanted a red, twirly dress...

...and who am I to refuse?

We had a bit of a New Years Day miracle here, where Freya actually let me sew.  She was having a lovely time tormenting, I mean playing, with the cats.  I'm pretty sure, according to her, they were all going to School and the Beach.  I didn't care which as I was able to whip this dress up while she was busy.

This is the First Day Dress by Dana Made It.  I am totally hooked on sewing circle skirts at the moment and although I love my trusty Tinny and Ileana patterns it was nice to sew one without a zip and worrying about the print and everything lining up.

I added the cap sleeves as I usually prefer a little shoulder coverage in the Summer time.  I made the size three as I didn't want it to be too big and I thought that was where her measurements best lay.  Unfortunately the bodice is a little snug so getting it on and off was a bit of a challenge but I still think she'll get some decent wear out of it.  I'll just make a size four next time.

The fabric is some red Aneela Hoey fabric that I have totally forgotten what I originally bought it for.  Then again it may have been one of those times where I just liked it.  Whatever the case it's sewn up beautifully.  I used a yellow for the lining and the button for a pop of colour.

I decided to be a bit of a Maverick with the sewing instructions.  The pattern has you fold the armhole seams inward and then sew them together.  I decided to use, I think it's called the 'burrito' method, where you fold the dress between the two armhole seams and then pull it out.  (Wow, at least I know what I mean...)  I also put together the whole bodice together and then attached the skirt, which is a little change from the instructions.

I also changed up how to do the neckline opening by drawing a stitching line and then cutting the fabric, instead of cutting the fabric and then sewing around it.  I just did what I knew would work best for me.

I love this dress.  It's twirly without being too dressy and it was quite quick to sew.  It's definitely one I'll be making again.  Sorry for the overload of photos but it was just one of those good days :)

 Just one more I promise!