Tiny mice and tiny bunnies

Sometimes simple is best.

The Tiny Mice dress pattern by Puperita has the perfect silhouette. I made a colour blocked version of this dress for my big girlie a couple of years ago. My sewing friend Emi clearly demonstrated that this dress looks great in one print also.

This time I felt adventurous and used gorgeous French Terry that Maaike, the lovely lady behind MaaiDesign, has generously sent me as a surprise with one of my recent purchases. Once again, thank you Maaike!

I originally wanted to use this fabric to make the Aster cardigan for my big girlie. Miss R looooooooved the print, the colour and the feel of this French Terry. But you see, her little sister got sick. Very sick. Miss L was sore, uncomfortable and miserable.  I did everything I could to help my little girlie. I held her day and night. I covered her with kisses and wrapped her in cuddles when she needed to feel a loving touch. I cried quiet tears of helplessness when she got so unwell her little body was shaking in convulsions in my arms. So when she finally started to feel better, without thinking twice I cut this fabric to make a dress for her. This, my friends, is how crazy sewing mamas celebrate. OK, maybe it is just me.

Hacking this pattern was so easy! Because the fabric has beautiful stretch the dress didn't need any closures. I simply subtracted seam allowance from the back pattern pieces and cut them on fold.

To make sure the dress would be easy to pull on and off I shaved 1 cm off the neckline and used white ribbing to create the neckband.

My little girlie is growing into size 18 months (insert a shocked emoji). I spent about forever trying to decide what size to make for her. I went for size 18 months and the dress turned out big. I am not too worried though as we still have a few cold months ahead. Miss L wears this dress over a long sleeved bodysuit and this way the fit is spot on. It will still fit her beautifully when she won't need to wear extra layers to stay warm.

I love this dress on my little girlie. I am not keeping it for special occasions. I want Miss L to get as much wear out of this dress as possible before she outgrows it. She wears it to a playgroup, playgrounds and even childcare! It has already been washed a few times. So far the fabric is performing beautifully! This particular print is currently unavailable at MaaiDesign, but Maaike has a few other very cute fabrics. You might want to sign up to Maaike's newsletter so you know what new products she is adding to the store, and perhaps get special newsletter subscribers offers ;)

I can't believe this little girlie is nearly two! I should probably start thinking about a special outfit for her Birthday! That is a more pleasant reason to celebrate, don't you think?