Geranium Dress Gift Sets

The Geranium Dress pattern by Made by Rae was the first pattern I bought to make for the cub. I bought it back when I was pregnant with her, and I made a simple little dress that we used in a photo to announce that we were pregnant on Facebook (isn't that a weird thing - this need to "announce" in some cute way?) and she wore the dress a lot last summer. It was so sweet on her.

 I've made quite a few other Geraniums and feel so comfortable with the pattern that I started modifying and customizing it. This summer I made two Geranium sets for dear friends who are expecting little girls, complete with accessories.

 The first was a linen blend, with a chevron tucked bodice. I created the tucks on the fabric beforehand, then cut out the pattern pieces on the bias (so the tucks would lay nicely on the grain still.) I made a bunny lovey using this pattern and a matching bow, as well. The lining of the bodice, the bunny's ears, and the bow were all the same Elizabeth Olwen quilting fabric. The buttons on the back of the dress were some darling little elephants that I happened to find - the exact color of the dress!

Modifying the pattern was actually fun - Jeff had me use his goniometer to figure out what angle I wanted the chevron at, then we did the math to figure out how big of an initial piece I needed to make tucks on, and how far apart the tucks should be. My math skills, hard at work (assisted by Jeff's math skills, of course.)
 





The second set was a sweet little floral gauze, and I added tucks down the front. I plan to do this design again in a solid so that the tucks will show up better - they are very subtle against the busy print in this dress. I made a little hat using Purl Soho's pattern, but modified it to remove the brim and make it reversible. More bows to finish the set off!

 It's hard for me not to sew a copy of every gift to have for the cub as well, because I really loved the way both of these turned out. I think I will make a few similar pieces for her wardrobe, especially a little bonnet for fall!