The Butterfly Dress and Headband

This weekend I was REALLY in the mood to make Evie some head bling. I don't know why, she just pulls them off or out seconds after I wrestle them on her. I think it is because her hair no longer resembles a mullet but actually IS one and until we get near a children's hair cutter there is nothing I can do but try and hide it under flowers and bows :) I also spent a lot of time perusing children's clothes sites since her shorts are coming dangerously close to being "bootie" length and we have a cruise to go on in a few months! I got kinda bummed though because everything is sooooo expensive. I hmmed and hawd over ordering Evie  this dress from Elias and Grace that I have been mooning over for a while.

But oh my goodness 50 euro? I decided I would just have to see if I could make one myself. I had some very special fabric sent to me by Jessica over at the Planner and the Procrastinator and the adorable Etsy shop Chirpy Designs that I had been saving and saving and you know dying to use but not wanting to use because then it would be gone? It is called Meadowsweet by Sandi Henderson. Well I busted it out and went to town. I am in love with the dress that came out of it and the resulting headband.

I mixed it up a bit and put the buttons in the front, I thought it was a bit boring without them :) Below you will find a tutorial for the dress and I am thinking I will try to put a pattern up on Monday for those who feel a bit safer sewing with one. If you love the headband, well let me tell you it is soooo easy! 

For the fabric rosette you can follow my tutorial at the end of THIS blog post. For the gathered flower you can follow the fabulous tutorial found HERE on one of my fav blogs Heart Made. I then totally copied her stacked circle flower from her etsy shop and added my own little felt bow on the end. Felt bows are pretty self explanatory but if you would like a step by step head over to my friend Elizabeth's blog HERE for a tute. I am not going to lie I loved the finished product so much when Evie went to bed I put it on and wore it around for a while. 

I just used really thin elastic hot glued onto the felt as the headband. It is less noticeable then stretchy lace and I thought the headband had enough going on without adding anything else. Her orange leggings are of course from my favorite leggings shop We Love Colors. They really are fabulous and have EVERY color you can imagine. Now funny story, I made the dress during morning nap while daddy taught the boys how to bowl on the Wii (yes my boys don't know how to play Wii a fact I am rather proud of) then I made the headband (two actually the second to debut later) during afternoon nap. I was so excited to have it all done and wanted to take pictures that evening but every time I tried to get the dress on Evie she would throw a MASSIVE fit. I mean lat down and cry onto the tile floor while kicking her legs fit. Then she would go limp as a noodle so I couldn't get any appendages in the appropriate places. It finally got dark and then I just resigned myself to seeing if it actually fit. I tried treats and books and bribes. Finally I said "Evie? Do you want to go to bed or try on your dress?" She looked at me and said "Bed." Then picked up her blankie and walked into her room. Yeah. I was totally sad. This morning though a bribe to go walk on the beach did the trick. She was one happy camper!

It was really nice to be alone on the beach front as well. Sunday mornings are pretty darn peaceful in front of our house. 

Thankfully Daddy came with me to coax out a few smiles

And after only a short walk on the beach Evie didn't even cry when I told her it was time to go in...

 maybe it was because I actually said "Do you want to go home and take off your dress?" That did the trick ha! If you would like to learn how to make the dress simply click below and read more! If not I hope your weekend is as full of beautiful things as ours was!

I will try and get the pattern for the two dress pieces up on Monday. I simply free hand drew mine and I promise it is really forgiving because you gather so much of it :) You will also need to make some homemade bias tape. A fabulous tutorial can be found HERE at MADE. I used about a half a yard of fabric for this dress minus the bias tape, which always eats up a ton :(

You will need to cut two. The front and the back are identical

(sorry I spelled together wrong)

It was at this point that I also hemmed the dress, just to get that part out of the way

Topstitch the bias tape into place 

Hem to bottom long edges of both butterfly sleeves

The finished dress, headband and leggings

A close up of the headband for those who might want to make it

So there you have it! Not to hard right? And come on, how cute is it all together when you get a big cheessers to go with it?