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10.12.2016

The Oliver + S Hide and Seek Dress

As Indigo has grown, it's become a fun challenge to continue sewing for her.


She's transitioned to wearing shorts, jeans, and tshirts more often, but she still enjoys wearing dresses, too.  And I enjoy sewing them for her.


Sometimes, though, it can be hard to land on a pattern that suits the older girl well.


Last year, my pattern of choice was the Mini Marthe.  It looked great on Indigo, but was maybe a bit constricting in the shoulders for my active girl.


So I was happy when I remembered the Hide and Seek dress by Oliver + S.


The pattern is grown up, without being too grown up, in that sassy 'tween'/teen kind of way.


And that's how I would currently describe Indigo.  She is so mature, but in such a sweet and wholesome way.


This past weekend we were brainstorming ideas for our Halloween costumes.  We came up with our family theme and I ordered them online.  After clicking "Place Order", I had a twinge of regret.  I told Indigo that I kind of wished I was making them instead.


Indigo said, "You know, Mom, you made the right choice by buying them this year.  You have a lot on your plate and Hazel still gets into things a lot.  This was the way to go."


It was such a reasonable thing to say, so true, and also a sweet way to encourage me.


On another evening Indigo, Jude and I were watching videos in the  'Unusual Pets' section on Instagram.  One popped up of the pocket pigs when Indigo said: "Don't get any ideas, Mom.  They might look cute in the videos, but pocket pigs would require a lot of care. It would be too much work."  Jude nodded in agreement.

I literally laughed out loud, given it's what parents often say to their children when they plead for a pet.


For the record,  I totally do not want to get a pocket pig!   (Though they are pretty cute, right?!) I just thought it was funny that those two knew our limits.

I made this dress in a Kokka double gauze.  It's reminiscent of the classic blue and white china, which I really liked.


It wasn't possible with this fabric to match the print in a mirrored way with the pattern pieces, like I typical do.  But I felt the floral design was free flowing enough that it was okay that it wasn't perfectly matchy-matchy.


I used three simple wooden buttons for the back.


Given we were at this beautiful park and the entire family was together, Dan said he would snap a couple of shots of me with our kids. Honestly, I don't enjoy being in front of the camera at all - my preferred place is always behind it! But as my kids have grown, I've realized how important it is to get in the frame once in awhile.

Of course, this would be the one occasion in which Hazel absolutely refused to get in the photo.  I mean, what do you do with that?  Surely forcing them to do so would not result in the happy, cohesive moment I had hoped for.


So, yes, this is life with a sometimes stubborn toddler.  I guess the best thing you can do is embrace it!


I'm so glad I get to be their mom!


22 comments:

  1. Haha! I love the rogue toddler; what a realistic representation of life with little children. :)

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    1. What a perfect description! Hazel goes rogue! haha!

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  2. Oh my goodness, HAZEL!!!!! I'm dying! That is the best family portrait ever. You will absolutely treasure that one in years to come. So. Good.

    *Wipes tears of laughter from eyes*

    What a gorgeous dress for a lovely, practical, young woman! I love her attitude! A girl after my own heart. A lovely imagination coupled with feet still quite firmly planted on the ground.

    Pocket pigs. Yeah ... maybe not ... don't get any ideas, Rachel! (My kids will be saying this to me later, Steve already does - don't even LOOK at the pets available for adoption, because bad things could happen, mom!)

    Just so much to love about this post.

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  3. Oh what a lovely dress and lovely girl. I haven't sewn this pattern yet but I hope to make one for Ansley. The picture with Hazel still makes me laugh. Lisbon would have so much fun with her!

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  4. Gorgeous dress - we have that very fabric in our shop right now, it's so beautiful! I love that your kids are saying 'don't get any ideas' to you about pets :D In fact my kids pretty much say the same to me when I talk about another greyhound. What's with this sensible generation we're raising hey?! And I think that last portrait is such a fabulous snapshot of a moment in time. Frame it!

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  5. Haha, the pictures with Hazel on the side are just perfect! I bet a professional photographer would place you all like that, it gives such an interesting extra dimension to the pic! And oh, Indigo is such a darling child. I think we'd get along quite well; the way you describe her always reminds me of things my mom tells about me when I was her age!

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    1. I'm glad Dan happened to get her in the frame. My instructions were basically - stand far back and I'll crop in later. It's always better to have more space in case it's crooked or what not. Anyway, it was such a funny capture!

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  6. Love it! Hazel is teaching you about a fundamental law of the universe: The Toddler Uncertainty Principle - toddlers will do exactly what you ask of them, you just can't ever determine when, or where, that may happen!

    Beautiful, beautiful dress. I adore this pattern, and all in one fabric like this it is stunning. I'd wear this one if I was Indigo's size. And she is 100% right about pigs as pets. Trouble!

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  7. The dress suits her perfectly, beautiful sewing and a beautiful sentiment.

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  8. I gasped seeing your first photos and I laughed out loud at the last two! If I had a pic like that I would have framed it, seriously hahaha The dress is gorgeous and I think it suits Indigo so well. The print is so feminine. It is gentle. but not childish. Indigo is growing into such a beautiful young lady, both inside and out :)

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  9. Okay now i have to look up what a 'pocket pig' is lol. And i'm going to pin that dress, so gorgeous!

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    1. They are very small pigs, but apparently, it can be a scam and they can get ENORMOUS. So, buyer beware! :D

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  10. I love this post. I love the dress. And you are gorgeous! (Inside and out!)

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  11. I scrolled through this post and I'm almost speechless...This dress is so absolutely stunning and yet Indigo is even more stunning. WOW WOW WOW. And those family photos are THE BEST hahaha. Toddlers!! And now I need to look up pockets pigs...what in the world? Haha. Thank you for a fantastic post!

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  12. Oh Rachel - this dress is so beautiful, but so is Indigo!!! Oh my - she is just stunning with that golden hair and beautiful smile. Of course, your photography also is amazingly good at capturing her beauty:) I adore your fabric choice, and really - what better color for her namesake?:) Love, too, Hazel's independence in being outside the frame (clever Dan for capturing that awesome detail:). Oh, it's going to be such fun watching her grow!:)

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  13. Great picture of you and the kids. And I'm sure everyone will laugh at it big time later on in life!
    Love that dress, Rachel. It's a fabric I would never pick myself but it looks so pretty on your girl...

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  14. Oh my gosh Rachel, this is just gorgeous! It's perfect on Indigo, who is just the sweetest (and I love when kids are so wise and have advice for US!) but really, I just love the whole post. That dress. Wow. Love the rogue toddler too! Hehehe

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  15. You'll be so glad you have a picture of her choosing to stand apart! It will speak volumes when you look back on it in years to come. And I bet it will make her laugh someday too! Indigo is at that age where they start growing up FAST. Not in a bad way, just in a shocking way. Aria is looking like a teenager these days, even though she doesn't style and talk like one.

    Hey, do you have any suggestions on girl names? I'm still struggling with one. I love your taste in names. In fact, maybe I should see if Brandon likes Indigo! haha. Would you mind?

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  16. So, I think realistic pictures are the best for families and you have it captured perfectly. Those are keepers for sure.

    Double gauze sounds SO lovely. I really must sew with some one day.

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  17. Indigo is one wise girl. She is so beautiful inside and out! The dress is gorgeous! πŸ’™πŸ’™πŸ’™ Love the family pic. πŸ˜†This is the the first year that E. agrees to be in the pictures. Gorgeous photography as always!

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  18. I love your fabric choice! It looks stunning on her. Gorgeous dress. I really adore those photos of you and the kids with wee Hazel off to the side - hey will be such a funny memory in years to come!

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