I call this fun dress my sprinkle dress, because the cheerful fabric looks exactly like the colorful candy sprinkles children love to put on ice cream! It's quilting cotton from Hancock's of Paducah, and while it is a 1930s print, I have seen ones similar enough used for 1950s clothes that I chose to use it for that era instead. While the cotton does wrinkle a little after a day of wearing (especially curled up on the sofa with a small boy asleep in your lap…), it is smooth and high quality!

I've had this pattern for years, and it just never got pushed to the top of my list until I saw pictures of Dolly Creates' Christmas version on Instagram. That made me want to make my own, so I dug it out.

Actually, I ended up very nearly not being able to make it after all since I could not find the pattern when I went to collect my cutting materials. Any seamstress can tell you how frustrating it can be to be all ready and eager for a particular project and then have to stop short, and maybe move on to another one!

I looked and re-looked through my pattern drawers to make sure I hadn't missed it, and asked various relatives if they had borrowed it. Thankfully, just as I was running out of options, I remembered this had happened to me once before – and that time the pattern had slid to the bottom of my pattern drawer under the other patterns (which were standing on their sides). I pulled out my plastic drawer, holding my breath…and sure enough there was a pattern flat under the others. THE one! Such a relief. 🙂

After all that drama, making the dress was a breeze. It took a bit more time to cut out since the right and left bodice and facing had to each be cut out separately, but the fiddly bit (the front bodice with its inset strips) was actually much easier than I expected. It went quite quickly and I really like how it looks. The facing was quite unusual, with the construction, but I didn't have any issues with it after I figured it out.

The V tabs in the front are supposed to hold buttons, but somehow I got them off center enough that I wasn't sure buttons would look right, so I decided to let them be extra asymmetrical and closed them with snaps instead. I enjoyed being adventurous and pairing 3 prints together for this dress, choosing to accent the yellow since I don't have much yellow in my closet.

I've been having issues with my hair lately…not sure if it's the haircut or the shampoo I'm using. A hair net is usually my best friend. But today I brushed it more pageboy style with the curl turned under, and am very pleased with how 1950s it turned out.

The rest of the dress is pretty basic and easy. I finished the whole dress in just a few days. I may have to take it in at the waist once I am back to normal proportions, but right now it is comfortable and easy to wear.

While I like the fun and unusual combination of cotton prints, I think this pattern would really be well-suited for a classy fall or winter dress with dark or jewel tone solids in a wool crepe or something similar. Now that I made it once and discovered how much I enjoyed it, it is likely I will try another version another time!

I have one more "normal" dress project on my list to squeeze in quickly before I have to switch over to maternity patterns, so while dresses like this may not be worn much this spring, I will enjoy them in the late summer and fall when I have less time to sew!