A tribute to knit dresses

I may have mentioned this before but boy, do I love a knit dress. Not for myself or the boys, of course, but for Laura. And who would blame me? They're an all-in-one outfit (great for husbands who occasionally have a problem understanding that cerise trousers may not go with a candy pink top), they can be folded up small to fit into a handbag (a boon during potty-training). They require hardly any ironing, which is always a plus but especially on holiday. They're cool in the summer, cosy in the winter, and they're very very cute. And you can make them - really quite quickly if you're unfussy about finishing seams - without an overlocker. This is quite important to me at the moment because mine is in the shop. Again. But enough of such misery - let's talk knits.

At some stage I'll post a picture of the second knit Harebell I did. In the meantime, this is a dress I put together using the Farbenmix Zoe pattern as a starting point. I added a hood (from Olivia) and attached a circle skirt to the dropped waist. I see a lot of these knit dropped waist dresses around, and I always think 'why skimp on the skirt?' So I didn't. And you should see this baby twirl!

Laura loves butterflies so I appliqued one to the front. It gives the dress something of an air of 'look at all the stuff I can do!' but I was making it for a not-quite 3 year old so I reckon the fashion police will let me off with a caution.






The skirt of this Ottobre dress is definitely on the skimpy side. I used an adult t-shirt to make it - it was £1.50 in Sainsbury's and I loved the fabric so I happily threw it in the trolley only to discover that it was so badly cut as to be unwearable. There was a fair amount of fabric which I thought would transform nicely into the Ottobre knit dress.

I was ambivalent about this pattern; it's another that I felt I ought to like but didn't quite. I was convinced to give it a go by the gorgeous versions created by Tiny from Tiny's Kitchen Table, but I'm not so in love with my own version to try making another. But it's a pattern crossed off the list and it was, until I introduced her to butterflies and circle skirts, Laura's favourite everyday dress.

Now this dress I am not remotely ambivalent about. I love it. The pattern started out life as a woven peasant top, then became a woven dress, and then I did some slashing & spreading and general hacking about, and it became this Gored Peasant Dress. If I put it in the shop I'll try and think of a better name for it! It's a little more sophisticated than my usual fare and I'm not sure if that's entirely down to the fabric. I'll have a better idea once the Patty Young knits arrive and I can try out all these patterns in those gorgeous fabrics. Until then, I have shelves of knits to clear and birthday outfits to make for my boy so I'm hoping that the overlocker comes home soon.