Picking flowers....on the way to a Star Trek Convention?

Have you ever sewn something that you really like, but that looks nothing like you expected it to?

I just finished making Simplicity 3588 for my daughter, out of the same -nightmare to work with- pale gold poly charmeuse as I made my beaded top.

Most people make their little girl's clothing bright and colorful with pretty prints. And I usually do too! I have a beautiful turquoise and lavender brocade sitting ready to make a second version of this dress. But, I wanted to do a trial run before cutting the brocade, and my daughter begged me to make her first dress out of this fabric. I think she likes it so much because it is so shiny and soft, it feels like liquid gold, very fluid to the touch, nice on the skin.

So I took her to Jo-anns with me and let her pick out the buttons. I also decided to add the black piping around the collar and bodice, as in view B of this pattern, to give the pale fabric a little definition. The interesting result of this seems to me that she looks a bit like she's going to a Star Trek Convention. :D Lt. Liz reporting for duty!

Of course, she thinks it looks like a Kung Fu dress (and so does daddy!)
When we went outside to pick flowers and take pictures, it was very windy. Ahh, the Oregon coast....

Anyway, since she just loves Avatar, the Last Airbender (the cartoon series, not the movie), she decided to show me how she was Air Bending the wind! lol

Ah, I remember what it was like to pretend to have super powers. And to have such an imagination. :)

As usual, she just adores having her picture taken. I hate to admit it, but lately she's been watching re-runs of Project Runway with me (I sincerely hope she never wants to be a model! but I love the clothes on that show.) She decided to show me her "project runway" pose, which was pretty good!

On a side note, I spent the last of my sewing allowance for this month to buy her those black dress shoes. Amazing that she didn't own any! Her only dress shoes are Dorothy Gale red. I was so lucky, Payless shoes was having a big sale, so I got these cute little shoes, normally 14.99 for only 4.49! Now that's a good shoe bargain. :)

Liz really likes the shoes and the dress, and I had a hard time getting her to take them off to eat when we got back inside for snack time. She didn't even want to go inside, it was such a beautiful day out today. But after about an hour of picking flowers and taking pictures, and just walking around the neighborhood, she was getting hungry. So finally, we went back in to have some fresh strawberries and milk.

In conclusion, I love this pattern. It was difficult to sew this fabric (haha, understatement of the year! It was like trying to sew with wet eels. Pins people. The key is lot and LOTS of pins!!), and the pattern itself isn't for beginners either. In the end it was really worth it, though.

Certainly, the dress is a bit...monochrome, but it will be a nice school dress for the fall, I think. Pretty, but not too showy. Oh, and I adore the bell sleeves with the little gather near the bicep! Very good design element.

I may or may not enter this into the Sewing for Children Contest on PR. I have at least 2 more things I want to sew for Liz, and instead of many entries and hoping for the random prize, I'd really like to put up my best entry and see if I can actually get some votes! It would be nice to make something really, really nice and see it come in the top 5. :)

I think this pattern will be one I make and remake many times as she grows, as it will look just as nice on a 6 or an 8 year old. So this one is a keeper for sure!