Class Picnic, two ways

To all of you trapped in the clutches of the American winter that won't end, I am sorry for what I am about to show you.  (OK, I'm not that sorry; I more than paid my dues during our two years in Moscow!)

It is definitely spring in Tbilisi.  The apple trees are blossoming, my garden is soaked with rain, and we've been able to get outside in just our fleece jackets ... or some days, no jackets at all!

And when I think spring, I think Class Picnic Top.  I have sewn five Class Picnic tops, almost all of those about this time of year in 2012, when I was willing spring to come to Russia.  We got some good wear out of them all, but they no longer fit.

So, last week each girl chose fabric from my stash and I got to work.  The outgrown tops were sewn in a 24 month size with 4T length.  I knew I needed to lengthen the top this time, and for an arbitrary reason that I do not now recall, I decided to cut the 3T with four inches of extra length (though N is taller than Z, they basically wear the same size).  As it turns out, that is long enough to make a Class Picnic dress for Z and a tunic for N.

Little Z's dress is made out of a yummy double-faced gauze from Fabric Mart.  I had worked with the same gauze in a different colorway for my second Late Lunch Tunic so I knew the material was fragile.  I used French seams to sew up the sides, and I added slits with ribbon trim.  I used a scrap of the fabric left over from my own tunic to make a sweet heart applique.

I love this dress.

Z permitted me to snap the above photos (Mama's styling preference) on the condition that she could add her own touches to the outfit before school.  OK, I said.

When she was done, she looked like this:

(She is still wearing the tights I picked out;  - they are under the jeggings.)

Big sister N chose a lightweight batik quilting cotton from Joann's remnant bin for her top.  I gave the tunic a drop waist by making an elastic casing out of some yellow grosgrain ribbon.

I had just enough of this orange-and-white grosgrain ribbon to make a little bow. I thought it would match very well - though maybe it matches a little too well as you can barely see it from anywhere but right up close.

Do the funky chicken ...

The girls were so happy with their dresses that they couldn't help but bust a move.

Geez Mom, can you stop taking photos already?

Nope.

I used a label off a roll of twill tape I got as a gift-with-purchase when I placed an order with the Land of Oh Etsy shop awhile back.  This is the first time I've put in a label and I really like it.  Maybe it's finally time to figure out what I want to put on my own labels and order some.