Spring Sunshine Badminton Dress

This was what it looked like at my house on March 25:

This is what it looked like at my house on April 10:

So, I guess you could say that Spring literally sprang upon us.  I LOVE warm weather.  Some of the happiest days for me were when we lived in Hawaii.  One of the things I like most about warm weather are all the cute dresses and sandals you can wear.  I wear dresses all spring and summer and so does Piper.  So, naturally I needed to start sewing some for the warm seasons that are upon us.

I have had the idea for this dress in the back of my mind since I first saw the Riley Blake line Hello Sunshine. Isn't that the perfect title for my first spring dress, after all we are all happy to see the return of the warm sun.  Wouldn't you know though, the day I want to take a picture of my Sunshine dress, it's raining. 

Oliver + S Badminton Dress

This is my second Badminton dress (the first I wrote about here).  There is a lot of nice details in the dress but it does take a little more time to make as a result.  It's not terribly difficult to make, just takes some time to get all the details just right.  The flutter sleeve and rounded yoke are so cute when finished though, wouldn't' you agree?

I really like the flowers on the dress and wanted to keep with that theme, so instead of adding a bow to the front, I made a little fabric yo-yo and attached along with some buttons.

I had never made a fabric yo-yo before and it certainly wasn't rocket science.  I found a great tutorial here.  In hindsight I wish I had made the yo-yo a tad smaller, but I was flying by the seat of my pants.

You will notice the hem of the dress is a narrow hem.  The pattern uses a scalloped bottom to finish but I just don't care for it.  Maybe it's my laziness maybe it's something else.  

Hopefully I will be able to get some photos of Piper modeling later and if that's the case, I will certainly update.  It does make me happy that no more than a minute after finishing the last stitch and cutting the last thread, she was asking to put it on.  I do hope that means it will get lots of use this summer.  My only concern is that I decided a white background was a good idea, not sure what I was thinking.  Oh well, a dirty kiddo is a sign of a happy kiddo! :)

Edited to add a few modeled pics: