Designed by Olivia, age 7

If you missed the dress and purse I made for the K.I.D.S project at Me Sew Crazy, I’m posting it here today.  I hope it inspires you to hand the design reigns over to your little one at some point. 

I am SO thrilled to be participating in the amazing K.I.D.S. project here at Me Sew Crazy.  Seriously, brilliant series.  My girls see me playing with fabric all the time and they love to get involved in any way they can.  Olivia is especially interested in fashion design and at age 7, she’s getting pretty good at sketching up just what she wants.  She didn’t skip a beat when I asked her to draw anything and I would make it for her.  

I think her design turned out quite chic and I did my best to replicate it….minus the 10-inch heels…though I did let her go pick out some of my heels to wear for the photo shoot.  

To make the dress, I started with the “Ashley Knit Dress” by Peek-a-boo Pattern Shop, but elongated the bodice all the way to knee length, shortened the sleeves, and added two rows of ruffles around the hem.  

Since Olivia is so petite, I worked off of a size 4 pattern and custom fit the sleeve and hem lengths.  I used a really soft, jersey knit for the dress, as I was trying to mimic Olivia’s sleek design.  I think it was a good fit for a child’s dress, but I was concerned that it might look too much like a nightgown, so I added a silk bow on the shoulder for just a little touch of dressiness.  

Of course, Olivia included accessories in her design, so I stitched up a “phurse” based on her sketch.  

This was super quick and fun to make and Olivia was THRILLED that it actually opened.  

The temperature here has dropped drastically in the last few days so we had to run out in the freezing cold for a quick photo shoot the other evening.  We left the phurse on the counter inside and had to run out again for another shot with it.  Olivia was SO cold, but totally determined to model her design!!

I love how she poses in all her pictures – such a natural!  I guess her mama would think so!  

Anyhow, thank you so much for inviting me to participate in this series, Jessica!  One of my favorite projects yet and I love seeing what all the other little ones are designing!