A Year of Dresses: Seaside Sailor

Happy Independence Day! It's been a busy week, have you seen all the news at TDD?  The website is now easier than ever, has tiered pricing up to 30% off, and the exciting Diva Collection is coming soon.  To stay in the know, sign up for the TDD newsletter!  It comes out only 4 times a year and includes exclusive info and discounts you won't get anywhere else.  You can sign up at the link:  http://www.tiedyedivapatterns.com/mailing-list

Also going on this week is (of course) A Year of Dresses! We are on week 10 of 52! In honor of the 4th of July this week's dress is my favorite Tie Dye Diva nautical style, and of course it is Sweet Pea's 4th of July dress. The Seaside Sailor Dress is simply charming!  What's not to love about a full sailor collar and bow detail?  Sweet Pea is wearing Seaside Sailor Dress for Baby, available to make in sizes 0-24 months. Seaside Sailor Dress for Girls is also available and covers sizes 2-10. Baby and Girls dresses are not exact matches in these patterns, but they complement each other perfectly.

Baby Dress includes a full sailor collar, button front bodice and skirt, a sweet little bow!  The sailor collar is the ideal place for embellishment.  Choose from rick rack, ribbon, bias tape, or lace trim. The collar is also the perfect place for applique or embroidery.   Seaside Sailor for Baby buttons all the way down the front of the dress for super easy dressing of small babies.  Finish the dress off with a sweet little knotted bow.  It ads just the right spark of contrast without any dangerous tails for baby to pull on. Included in the pattern is also the option of making a contrasting under-collar.  From time to time you may be able to glimpse the red lining of Sweet Pea's dress.

For this dress I used one row of large rick rack. 

Such a sweet bow! And don't you love it when you
 just happen to have the perfect buttons?!?

Sewing this dress is really quite easy.  The pattern is rated as an Advanced Begging sewing level because it requires buttons and buttonholes (or press in snaps). As always you can trust that Jen has provided easy to understand, thorough, and detailed instructions. If you've never sewn a collar, rest assured that Jen will walk you through each step of the way!  I think my very favorite sewing element of this dress is that there are absolutely no exposed seams!  Not one!  It is a simply brilliant construction.

Isn't the inside beautiful too?

I made two super simple alterations/additions to this pattern.  First, as you know if you've read the past Year of Dresses posts, Sweet Pea is quite tall and thin so I added 1" to the skirt length.  Simply add (or subtract) the desired amount from the skirt length when  cutting out the skirt panel. Second, I added rick rack to the hem of my dress.  Seaside Sailor for Girls includes instructions for doing this, but the baby version does not. If you'd like to add rick rack to your Seaside Sailor Dress for Babies, here's how:

• Form your placket and hem as directed in the pattern. Then grab your desired trim.
• Measure the amount needed and add about 2 1/2"
• Heat seal the ends by quickly passing it through a flame.  
• Now wrap one end of your trim over the edge of your skirt at the hemline. A dab of glue stick here will help hold it in place.
• Sew the rick rack to your hemline by topstitching down the middle of your trim. 
• As you approach the opposite side of your skirt, wrap the trim over the edge again and stitch through all layers (2 layers of trim plus the skirt).

That's it!  Enjoy your rick rack trimmed hem!

Sweet Pea will be wearing this to all the festivities today and  I know that she will be cool and comfortable for playing on top of festively dressed!  She wore it to the lake this past week and definitely had no problems playing in the sand, throwing rocks in the water and admiring the boats as they went by!

The Seaside Sailor dress is certainly not limited to nautical themed sewing.  It is beautiful in just about any fabric.  To read more about the Seaside Sailor (including some pattern modifications) and find lots of fabric inspiration read through the Seaside Sailor Sew-a-long posts from last month! Also, if you are using a print fabric with obvious repeats be sure to read Jen's post showing you how to match the pattern across the button placket.

Just because you don't see the brothers very often!
They are usually just outside the frame in every photo shoot!

Here is your quick pattern rundown:

• Baby Sizes 0-24 months
• Girls sizes 2-10
• Fully lined bodice
• No hand stitching
• At knee length
• Button Closure
• Beautiful Sailor Collar
• Sweet Tie Detail