New Dress

A very successful trip to the second hand shop last week saw an amazing selection of beautiful angora, lambswool, cashmere and merino sweaters added to my stash to recycle into little clothes.  One particular pink one was destined to be made into a dress for our little poppet.  

To make the dress, I firstly felted the sweater by washing it in really hot water and drying it on hot.  This bonds the fibres together and makes it really warm. Secondly it makes it shrink.  This means I can throw the finished garment into the washing machine and not worry about it shrinking any more - great with a newborn as hand washing anything is just too much work.

I kept the original neckline, and just put a few gathers in both front and back to remove the extra width.  A rose for the front was fashioned from leftover pieces of the wool fabric.  

I used fabric from the sleeve of a lovely pink paisley shirt - also thrifted, to make the bodice band and girly ruffle at the bottom.

A baby sized yet functional pocket with a little hand embroidered flower finishes it off.

 It fits her really well at the moment as a dress and can be worn as a top when she grows.  At the moment she is wearing a long sleeved onesie underneath, but in warmer weather could be worn bare.

I might make a few for my shop soon too, as I just love this garment.  A very sweet way to recycle some of the lovely sweaters in my collection.