Simplicity 1353- A Leanne Marshall Confection for India

Oh how I love this dress!

And I love the girl who is wearing this dress!

And I love the reason why this dress and this 

girl came to be in the first place.

Let me back up a bit.....

You see, my parents celebrated 50 years of marriage

on May 16 of this year.

We had all been trying to get together as a family

to celebrate for several months.

We finally all met up at their home in Sparks, NV

last weekend!

My mother decided to ask a photographer friend

to take family photos, 

as we are rarely all together in the same place.

And she wanted a color scheme

of navy blue, white and yellow.

And she thought it would be fun if her three granddaughters

wore coordinating dresses with a sailor theme.

This cracks me up, because nearly 26 years ago,

I had a navy, white and ice pink scheme with 

a sailor theme for my wedding.

None of us are, or ever have been sailors.

But we like the theme!

I would be making three different dresses for three girls,

aged, 5, 9 and 22. 

Ahnalin picked out the patterns for her dress

and for my niece Cherish.

She chose Janet Gilbert's "Vintage Natalie"

pattern that she designed for Sew Beautiful Magazine.

India chose Simplicity 1353,

also labeled as S0573

designed by the fabulous Leanne Marshall

of Project Runway Season 5.

I will say it again, 

I LOVE THIS PATTERN!

Whenever I make a dress for India, 

or an adult client, 

and especially for myself,

I always start by making a muslin

or trial bodice.

I made a muslin of 

this pattern for India's dress and the muslin fit perfectly!

THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!!!

I actually plan to finish the muslin so she will have another dress

in this pattern in a different fabric.

Now that I know I can sew it directly from

the pattern and know it will fit her,

she may end up with a hundred of these dresses!!

One of our favorite details of this dress is the

accent piece at the top of the bodice.

 It offers just a peek of a print

on an otherwise solid dress.

For the main part of the dress, 

I used a cotton sateen

from Joann Fabrics that is 97% cotton with 3% spandex.

I have used this fabric in nearly every color they offer

and I love it every time!

 The white is a cotton sheeting

and the yellow polka dot is from 

Jennifer Paganelli's new line "Jenny Eliza"

which is also available at Joann Fabrics.

Both of the accent fabrics are cut on the bias,

requiring 3/4 of a yard.

So I ended up with plenty of extra fabric to line

the bodice and even....

 

 

sneak in contrast pockets!!!!!!

YES!!! POCKETS!!!

 

Pockets are always a must for India's dresses,

so that she has a place to put her insulin pump.

She adores these pockets and she adores this dress!

I found matching navy blue bow flats

on clearance at Macy's and bought

a pair for each of us.

They were perfect!

And my mom bought the sailor hats for the girls.

Some of my favorite things about this pattern

are the fit of the fully lined bodice and the pockets.

I love how Leanne explains how to insert an invisible 

zipper right in the pattern instructions.

I love the little details and explanations 

in the directions that are often left out

of most patterns.

I will definitely make this pattern for India again.....

and maybe one for me!

Next up, I will talk about the other two dresses.

Happy Sewing!

Sivje