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9.08.2017

A Geranium Dress for Hazel

After returning from a vacation to Colorado, I came back with an insatiable desire to sew something. Maybe it was due to the three weeks I went without touching my sewing machine at all. I had been knitting a lot, which I love. But I realized how much I enjoy the process of sewing - and listening to podcasts. They go together like peanut butter and jelly for me. Except I don't really like peanut butter and jelly, but you get the metaphor. ;)


The weather in Colorado felt perfectly fallish, at least for us Texans, and we saw so much wildlife - mule deer (or "reindeer" as my little girls called them), turkeys, rabbits, rolypoly squirrels, and there was even a mama bear roaming the neighborhood with three bear cubs. Perhaps it was our time there that inspired me to make this autumnal Geranium dress for Hazel in an organic poplin called Cottage Garden by Monaluna.


I'm not exactly sure what a poplin is supposed to feel like. I expected it to be lighter weight than a quilting cotton. But this felt exactly like a quilting cotton to me. It also faded on the first wash. I tend to avoid quilting cottons these days, not only because they tend to wrinkle a lot, but also because they seem to fade so much, too. I wash on cold and hang dry, so I'm not sure why this happens?


The jury is still out on whether this dress will fade even more but it didn't wrinkle too much when she wore it, so that's a good thing. I love this print so much! And the colors are still quite vibrant.


I knew Hazel would be enamored with the animals on this print. And she was. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the window and was delighted to notice all of the animals.


She started pointing them out to me, one by one.


Then she shared that even though the dress was blue, her eyes were brown. I asked what color her hair was and she exclaimed, "White!" That made me laugh.


I knew I wanted to pipe the seam between the bodice and the skirt. I had laid out three color choices : white, brown, and gray. I asked Dan for his opinion. He picked gray. "Are you sure?" I asked.


"I've never been more sure of anything, " he responded. Okay then.


I don't like making decisions and tend to vacillate a lot. Especially on small, seemingly insignificant decisions, like, "Which buttons should I use?" So he's good for me. :)

7 comments:

  1. This is a very sweet team effort ;) The dress looks so sweet and childish in this print. It's a pity about the quality of fabric. I know quilting cotton fades rather quickly. I have not noticed the same about poplin. I used it a bit when I first started sewing. I think it is relatively cheap, but I don't like the stiffness and the effort it takes to iron the wrinkles out.

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  2. It's such a gorgeous little dress! I often agonise over small details like coloured piping so it's great to have a decisive second opinion isn't it?
    As for the poplin question, I'd always thought of it as a slightly heavier, smoother cotton than quilting cotton, kind of like a sateen without the sheen. I've just been looking up definitions and now I'm even more confused, ha! I wonder if quilting cotton is essentially poplin by another name... hmmmm.

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    1. I was more confused when I googled it too! haha! But I would say it is crisper. For this dress, I like that!

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  3. Soooo cute! Love her "white hair" and her animals! The front bodice really looks curved across the front, like the Bohemian Babydoll dress. Is that just Hazel's cute little toddler body, or did you curve it up a bit? Good to know about poplin ... wait, I'm not sure what I learned! LOL!

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  4. I love the colors of this dress. So perfectly Fall-ish. I wonder if the fading has a little to do with your laundry detergent? I've read that method and seventh generation tend to fade fabrics more. I mostly sew with knit these days but arm&hammer is what I use and haven't noticed any fading.

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  5. I had the same thing with poplin once! I ordered it thinking it would be a voile-like structure, but it appeared to be so stiff! It's still in my stash, not knowing what to use it for ;-) But your little Hazey looks great in her dress! I had the same haircut when I was her age :-)

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