Little Hawaiian Dresses

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I actually made these a long time ago; I can't believe I haven't shared them with you yet!  (You may recognize the orange dress from this post.  Yep, it's been a while.)

I used Butterick Pattern #3782 for both of these little dresses I made for my Boo.  I made the blue one first (as you may have guessed since it's smaller!), and it was nice, but, well, the pattern needed some improvement.  The neckline was just too high--it was almost a turtleneck on my tiny little girl.  And the ... straps?  Do you call them straps when they're that wide?  Anyway, those parts of the dress were too wide--they were almost cap sleeves for Boo. 

So the next time I made the dress, I made the neckline a little lower, and the straps a little thinner (more strap-like).  Then I finished the edges by adding facings, instead of bias tape, which also helped with keeping the dress a reasonable size at the neck and arms.

I also merged the two pleats into one center pleat, which I just like better.  

Then I added a ribbon for a tie.  Besides adding cuteness, I wanted to be able to tie the dress to fit my tiny little girl, instead of being so big on her.

There's a funny story behind the orange Hawaiian dress.  Mr. MadeIt had this bright orange Hawaiian shirt he loved and his family loved to make fun of.  Then one day, much to the joy of the family and the sadness of Mr. MadeIt, the shirt tore.  Mr. MadeIt threw it away.

And I rescued it.  A shirt that was amusing on a redheaded daddy became a dress that was lovely on a brown-headded daughter.  I even re-used some of the buttons from the shirt to decorate the dress.  Mr. MadeIt's family was thrilled to see the orange Hawaiian print on their granddaughter/niece....and not on their son/brother.

(P.S.  I actually liked it as a shirt, too.  Everyone should have a loud and happy Hawaiian shirt if they want to!)