Bunny's Village Frock

I saw this dress on one of the sewing blogs I was perusing the other week and fell in love with it.  Problem is, that it is not longer available, as you'd know if you just tried to click on the link.

So, I googled it, sure to find SOMETHING I could go on to make it for Bunny, since I had decided upon first sight that it was a dress I MUST make for her.  

 I came up with lots and LOTS of pictures of cute Village Frocks (that is the name for it) made by many sewers who were lucky enough to get their hands on the pattern, but no pattern. 

So, I decided I'd draft my own.  I've done it before and it seemed feasible enough.  So, I sorted through all the google images I found looking at shapes and construction as I started drawing plans for my own version of the Village frock.

 It was while doing that that I discovered this, similar pattern. 
And I even found a tutorial--that might be helpful to someone. 

With these resources and a tutorial on making your own Bias Tape, I made Bunny her little Village Frock using fabric I'd found years ago on clearance at Walmart that I'd been dying to find a use for ever since.  I'm pretty pleased with the results.  And she got more compliments on this dress than she ever gets.  It was especially a hit at my sister's bridal shower. 

Bunny's Birthday Outfit (Plus pattern links)

So, it didn't occur to me to take a photo of Bunny's Birthday outfit until after she'd worn it and wrinkled it, but I wanted to share it with you anyway.

Eager to find something easy, without having to reinvent the wheel, I googled toddler dress patterns and found this awesome list compiled by Prudent Baby (one of the best sewing blogs in my opinion).

After perusing the list, I decided on this simple dress (It's just a rectangle!!!) for Bunny.

Then I wanted a shrug.  I only found one shrug-like pattern, but it was good, so I used it.  Since this pattern was for knits, I added a little bit of extra seam allowance to Bunny's size.  It worked out well!

For the bloomers I used a shorts pattern--well, actually, I traced one of Bunny's shorts and added an inch or two around the edges, and then sewed it together and added elastics in the legs.  So the bloomers are really only shorts that are gathered at the legs.  I'm sorry, I don't have more details than that for you.

And finally, I bought a party hat, cut it out, and used it to make a hat pattern.  Then I sandwiched some stiff interfacing in between the layers and sewed this party hat.  I didn't do it well, but I learned enough to do it perfectly next time.  But since I'm not a huge perfectionist, I'm happy with good-enough version that I already made and Bunny loves!

And here is Bunny with her adorable birthday outfit.  How cute is she???