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11.21.2016

Vintage McCalls 6673

I'll never know why my girls develop an affinity for a particular pattern that I sew.


Their favorites aren't always predictable.  This summer Iris and Tia wore their Hummingbird dresses every chance they had.  One of Iris' all-time favorites was the Schoolhouse pinafore, which I sewed in a brown linen.  I would've never expected her to be so crazy about a simple, brown linen pinafore.  She called it her Sneaky Squirrel dress.


Apparently she has a thing for pinafores, because this is Iris' new favorite.  I have never seen her so excited about a dress before.  She literally wants to wear it every single day!  I made it over a month ago now, but her enthusiasm for it still hasn't waned.



She isn't deterred by weather.  If it's cooler outside, she layers it with a sweater or a tshirt underneath, or both.  She's worn it with leggings, dress shoes and cowgirl boots!  She wears it when she's playing outside in the dirt, but she also wants to wear it to dressier places like church.  I took this photo just before a Saturday evening service.


She once waited in the laundry room, standing in front of the dryer, for the dress to be done.  She later confided that she was praying it would dry especially fast, as she watched the laundry tumble.


When I've asked her what she likes about it, she simply says "it's so cozy."  The fabric is just a basic quilting cotton from my stash, though it is especially soft and hardly wrinkles at all. 


The pattern is vintage McCalls 6673.  I bought it from Emily during her Instagram destash.  (She also sent a pair of City Shorts for Hazel! - the sweetest!).


As far as vintage patterns go, it doesn't get better than this one.  The instructions were great and the sizing was spot on.  Although I did sew it based on Iris' chest measurement (size 3), so I added a whole lot of length.


One of my favorite details about this dress is the pocket.  The pattern also includes a pattern for a little mouse softie which fits inside the pocket.  How adorable is that?  I should make it next time.


Iris lives life so passionately.  Right now, she's really into singing.  She belts out her favorite tunes, always with a bit of vibrato and accompanying dramatic hand motions.


She loves in such a big way, too.  Our girls take baths in our bathroom and their clothes are often left scattered all over the floor.  (And maybe my clothes 'somehow' end up there, too).  :P  Iris likes to put them into the hamper for me.  Then she comes to find me and declares, "Moooom, I have a surprise for you!"


She tells me to close my eyes as she leads me by the hand into my bedroom or bathroom and exclaims : "OPEN!"  Every piece of clothing which was strewn on the floor has been picked up and put into our laundry baskets.  She beams with pride as I tell her how much she blesses me.


The other evening at dinner, the potatoes were being passed around the table and by the time they got to me, they were gone.  Iris said, "Mom, I want you to have mine.  I wanted to eat them but I prayed that I would instead choose to be selfless."  It was so cute and sweet.  And it's true.  Some of our greatest acts of selflessness and love for others come not in the grandiose gestures, but in being big-hearted, kind and generous in the small things.


(And no, I didn't eat all of her potatoes!)


Iris is so full of light.  Dan and I like to say, the world needs Iris!  It needs her love and her light!

9 comments:

  1. I can't believe how grown up she has gotten over the summer. Ahh ~ what a sweet, sweet heart she has. The pinafore suits her perfectly, I think.
    Happy Thanksgiving ~ Tracy

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  2. Such a pretty dress. I can see why she likes it. Wow she is so mature over those potatoes!! What a sweetie!

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  3. I really laughed at the potato story, Iris is sooo sweet! In fact it's really special that such a young kid really gets the meaning of praying and being selfless. I agree with you that her love will make the earth a happier place!

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    1. Thank you, Eva! Iris always makes us smile with the things she comes up with!

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  4. Oh wow. I love her! She's just fantastic. What a lovely spirit. And this dress suits her so well. I love the added mustard ("golden"!) bias on the ruffle. So lovely. And it's the perfect garment for your climate, right? Cool and breezy but if things cool down, easy to layer. I can see why she loves it. Also, the potatoes!!! GAH. Most of us will never be that selfless, Iris! LOL!

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  5. What a beautiful girl inside and out! You are a wonderful mom! Love the dress!

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  6. She really has grown up a lot! That's a lovely blog post and story, but surely she can be a bit horrid sometimes can't she? :) The world certainly needs light and happiness, but we need feisty, strong girls too. I'm guessing Iris has all of that going on.

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    1. Oh there’s no need to worry about that - Iris has feisty in spades! :D As the fourth of five, the girl can hold her own. I would never see being strong as being somehow opposed to being loving. That’s is such a strange false dichotomy to me. But yes, we work with all of our kids on how to stand up for themselves and what they believe, while simultaneously being kind. Interestingly, it comes most naturally to our girls.

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  7. She is so grown up. I love the pinafore. Happy Thanksgiving to your family. I really enjoy your blog.

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