Pleatie dress in the Sunshine

I took advantage of a slight break in the pretty miserable weather we've been having to photograph a project I actually finished quite a while ago now.

 This is the Pleatie dress from Tadah patterns.  I'd made the short-suit version last year but wasn't thrilled with the fit so I played it safe this year with a dress.  Plus I have a dress crazy girl, so at least I know this will get worn! I love dungarees and pants but it's not worth making lots of them as she will always, always choose to wear a dress!

This was one of those times when I had the idea of making this dress but just couldn't find the right fabric.  I remember looking around and around my local fabric shop one day and nothing was really leaping out at me.  I think it was around my third time round the store that day when I spotted this lovely Tilda fabric and knew it would be perfect.  It's actually a very pale green with blue spots in the flowers but it's a bit tricky to see on the photos.  I found the perfect blue to pair with it, and that was that!

This isn't the quickest dress I've ever made but it did go together nicely, with everything lining up perfectly. I remembered to be very careful with the facing and paid close attention to when and where you fold things too, as I became a bit unstuck there last time. The instructions and diagrams are pretty clear, just make sure you read them carefully.

 I went for sleeveless as I did make it while the weather was cooler (not that it's really warmed up yet!) so it could be easily layered and still work well for Summer.

I love the details of this pattern!  The pleats are just lovely and I really love a good collar.   You have plenty of options with this pattern including sleeves, pants or a skirt, pleats or no pleats, 2 collars to choose from and whether you put the placket on the front or the back.  As you can see I went with a pointed collar and a front button placket.

 It's been a hit with Little Miss and she quite regularly chooses to wear it.  I swear she must be the most overdressed kid at Kinder sometimes, but I figure she may as well wear what she wants.  I've given up trying to save things for going out as I have done in the past, and then some things were grown out of and barely worn. Not chance of that happening with this dress anyway.