I love having a baby niece to make dresses for. Amelie Claire is the first grandchild for our family. I have two brothers and three sisters - all younger - and hopefully there will be lots of future nieces and nephews to make things for... and maybe a mini-me one day too..
The pattern for this dress came from a Japanese craft book that I read about awhile ago on another crafty blog or two...maybe here or here but I can't find where?? or maybe it was here...
I can't read a word of Japanese but my youngest sister Verity is living in Japan at the moment and when she gets back I might have to get a few tips from her (at least that the symbols I think mean 'front' and 'back' on the patterns do actually mean that). Thankfully, the book is fabulous and clear and the pictures are easy to follow. I had the denim fabric from a stash of fabrics my Mum gave me many years ago when she had a big clean out. Luckily it's not too heavy a weight fabric for a baby. The trim is from the Freshcut by Heather Bailey range - stunning fabrics! I also made this baby rattle for Amelie out of a Freshcut fabric and a pattern from this book (a fabulous book for anyone who loves craft and cats but it's old now so may be out of print)...
And another Amelie project was this baby kimono, courtesy of a Martha Stewart pattern...
I used some fabric fat quarters from my stash, which work well for baby clothes cos they're so small but the use of two colours came about because the fabrics were too small to get a whole pattern out of - I like the effect on the back and front though - the back reminds me of an obi. Ironing is obviously not my best skill...
And now it's another Friday and another weekend full of potential to do some of the things I love - crafting, sleeping, eating and catching up with friends and family. Enjoy!