First Day Pattern: Swing Dress

Y'all know that I love Dana from MADE. The skirts and shorts that I make for the kids come from her site. Her tutorials, patterns, and instructions are detailed and easy to follow. I love the simplicity and fun colors Dana uses for her projects. She makes sewing fun, too. Everything is always adorable and cute! And so are her kids!

When she made this dress for her oldest daughter for the first day of school last year, I was in love with it. It's totally adorable. My girls needs a closet full of these dresses!

We waited patiently (or at least tried to) for Dana to create and finish a pattern for what would become the First Day Dress and Top pattern. 

That day came at the end of June and I can't tell you how excited I was to purchase this pattern. Finally! 

I had fabric picked out and ready to go, even without knowing how much I would need. 

I printed off the necessary pattern pieces and got busy. The fabric I used came from JoAnn's, or was it Hancocks..? Either way it was from the clearance section. I bought 1 yard and the pattern called for a yard and a half. Uh, oh.

I cut very carefully to get all of the pieces to fit and not have much waste. Luckily, everything worked out just fine. 

I made my girl her very own swing dress from the First Day pattern.

I made her bodice using the size 3 pattern piece. I matched it with the the size 3 skirt piece, but used the size 4 length for the skirt.

The fit is great! The size 3 is a bit snug, but not too tight for her. If she doesn't get much wider by next spring/summer she might be able to wear it for another season. I'm not holding my breath on that.

I have three more swing dresses cut out and ready to sew. I cut out two size 4's and one size 5.  

But I also have two back packs to sew as well. I have a lot going on in my studio and summer is going by fast, school will be here soon, consignment sales are coming up, and we can't forget about the State Fair. Oh, and I have a job that needs some of my attention, and laundry. Job, kids, laundry: places where my time goes. But without those I wouldn't be sewing in the first place.

First Day Pattern: Love it! I also love that there are options for tops as well. And the option of making an A line dress! I love the look of the A-line dress and I think I have the perfect fabric for it as well. Thanks, Dana, for creating such a wonderful pattern with great detailed instructions! You're amazing.

And if you couldn't tell my girl loves the twirliness of this pattern as well. So much fun!