Project Run and Play Week Two: Sweet Little Dress Pattern

This week on Project Run and Play we were asked to take THIS pattern and do with it what we will. This is totally ironic because this is one of the first patterns I ever downloaded. I think it is adorable and Evie and her good buddy Gwyneth have a slue of dresses made from this pattern. I had been searching and searching for downloadable patterns and Leila and Ben was one of the only places I could find cute ones. This is what originally sparked my desire to start a blog offering free downloadable patterns. So I am not putting it mildly when I say this pattern and I go way back. This actually made it kind of hard though because after making it so many times I really wanted to do something totally new and fresh, without changing the pattern drastically (which I think is the whole point of the challenge, make it fresh without creating a whole different dress). I originally made an entirely different dress from the one you will see today, I really should take a pic so you could see it. It is cute, BUT I felt it was a pretty run of the mill, anyone could make it type dress and this time I wanted to be more edgy, more rough around the edges, more couture....but still cute. Well, as you know by now (from THIS post) I LOVE bustles. The bustles and the "edgy" collided and I came up with this:

I was describing it to a friend and I said "well the front will have a tiered cravat, with unfinished messy edges and the rest of the front is very plain, but the back is all crazy fun. She looked at me and said "ah, like a mullet" HA! So, I lovingly joke that this is my mullet dress. Oh how I love my mullet dress.

I love the orange and the purple, the covered buttons, the raw edges

I love that Evie can still run for tasting looking rocks to eat... okay maybe I don't love that she is eating rocks :)

Even though I know they aren't part of the judging I am so excited about how her accessories turned out. Specifically her shoes.

I am gaga over Joy Folie shoes (I mean to the point where I was trying to make up excuses as to why I needed to fly home to the states so I could attend Jessica's class at The Makerie) and FINALLY was able to order a pair, alas they are boots and won't fit Evie until next year. BUT everything else is always sold out. I decided that wouldn't stop me and I set out to make my own pair. What I love is that they actually hold their shape and are nice and sturdy. I am just warning you that there will probably be a lot more posts about shoes around here ha!
Okay tangents aside I hope you think the Couture Cutie dress is as adorable as I do.

Or at least appreciate the 6 layers of ruffles and the hand pleating

Which I believe is at it's cutest when she is bent over ha!

I totally would have loved to make a bunch of these for my nieces for flower girl dresses (you hear that Claire? No pressure or anything, but when you find the right guy wink wink)
If nothing else Evie gets a kick out of it!

If you have a moment and would like to vote for the Couture Cutie dress and check out the other entries simply click HERE and you will be taken to Project Run and Play.