Criss-Cross Pinafore

About a year ago, I saw some beautiful fabric in the remnants bin at the fabric store.  It was just shy of a yard marked down quite a bit from the original price.  I wasn't exactly sure what I was going to make with it, but I was pretty sure that Dorothy needed a dress of some type from it.  In the pile of clothes that my mom had saved from when I was a baby was a criss-cross pinafore, made from some truly hideous fabric.  I loved the style of it though and tried it on Dorothy last year.  The cut was a little funny, so I used the ugly fabric one as a pattern, then made some changes to make it fit better. 

I love how this turned out! I might regret dressing her in all white, but it is just so sweet and summer-y on her. I'm getting better at some basic sewing techniques and things are starting to look a little less like I made them. I had two big compliments on this piece today. First, someone commented on how cute her outfit was within 15 minutes of me putting it on her. Second, my husband said that he hadn't realized that I had made it until he was putting the bloomers back on her after a diaper change and noticed there was no tag. Yay!

I had a hard time getting photos of the pinafore, but I bribed Dorothy with a little Pirate Booty snack and she held still for a bit.


The fabric is white with white embroidered and crochet flowers on it. It is pretty thin, so I lined it with a solid white, and trimmed it with white eyelet. The eyelet is a slightly different shade of white and I wish it was closer in color, but I'm not sure I could have found anything better.



I saved so much time using the eyelet instead of making my own ruffles and it sewed on beautifully. I might plan my next project around whatever fancy trim I can find. Not gathering ribbon or fabric was wonderful.



Ruffle butt.



It has been blistering hot here and the lightweight fabric, open back, and light color are helping keep her nice and cool.



The arm holes are a little big, but I don't think there is much I can do about that with this style. They are just extra ventilation and this outfit will be perfect when we head down to Florida in August.