Raina's Rainbow Dress (gown?)

 

I've been dreaming of this one for a while now.  I made it in a 3T instead of my usual 2T for Raina because I want it to fit for a while... and, uh, I guess I succeeded!  My first thought when she tried it on was along the lines of, "Wow!  Toddler rainbow mumu!  Awesome!"  But she can totally pull it off.  Especially out in public, topped with her dino hoodie!

This is the pile of fabric that inspired me to get started:

I Started with the Oliver & S Ice Cream dress pattern that I used a few weeks ago.  I used that to make the top (red piece) of the dress, and then I used the rest of the pattern pieces to create a basic shape for the bottom.  I divided the bottom into sections, and then started cutting!

I really just went with it on this part.  I didn't measure the squares at all, and didn't iron the fabric.  Bad seamstress Mommy.  But since they were going to be gathered and cut in the end anyway, it didn't seem like a big deal.  And really, it wasn't.  Honestly, I used the fold lines on the fat quarters as my cutting lines!  They ended up being basically uniform, with just a few pieces straying from the norm.  I ended up with rainbow patchwork rows:

I sewed the top of each with a basting stitch, gathered it, and started sewing them together from purple up to orange, making sure each row was slightly smaller in circumference than the one before.  When I got to orange, I gathered it to the measurement of the bodice top, and resumed following the Ice Cream Dress pattern to sew it together.  The bottom was hemmed last, with what seemed like 100 yards of pink thread!  :)

I love that it still has the v notch in the neckline...

but I ended up scrapping the bottom piece of the original pattern and just hemming a row of squares.  It's not as heavy this way, allowing more twirl factor.  Which, if you have a 3 year old girl, you know is supremely important!

The button loop is sewn from a different piece of red fabric, and the button itself is a simple shiny red little thing.

Rainbow dresses are good for lots of things!

Getting into your paint...

Snuggling your little sister...

 

Playing with your little sister...

Dressing tiny princesses...

and even putting tiny princesses in their beds!

   

Rainbow dresses are also good for dancing in puddles, layering with all the striped clothing in your wardrobe, playing rainbow snail (wish I had pictures of this!), and eating quesadillas.  They are not good for napping, though.  You must change back into your princess nightgown for that!

Go forth!  Sew yourself a rainbow and dance!