The Soleil Dress Pattern Tour

I am super excited to be one of the Summer of Soleil tour participants.  The Soleil dress is such a cute and unique design. Check out the cutout option in the back.

 

Lauren's instructions are great and easy to follow. It's quick to sew and suitable for confident beginners. Of course, if you are anything like me, your serger is your worst enemy and does not cooperate whatsoever. Don't worry I showed it who the boss is, it just took me a little longer (roughly three days longer) to complete the dress. If you are nothing like me and you and your serger are BFFs, it should not take longer then an hour.

Yes, that's a cheese stick in her hand. Whatever works. :)

It's hard to tell in the pictures, but the ribbing matches the tiny leaves in the dress perfectly. Truth be told the turquoise ribbing is not really ribbing, it's just a tiny remnant I had from a men's t-shirt I refashioned for Ania last year. I was sure it would not work since it had very little stretch, but since I am a rebel, I thought I would tried. I pulled on it with all my might and serged it on. To my utter amazement, it worked just fine. I had full intentions to topstitch it afterwards, but my child has a humongous head, and it stretches to its limit when I pull it on her. I was afraid the topstitching will break with wear.

 



 

One of the options for the dress has the cutest cut out detail in the back. I love how it looks, however it's cold here and I wanted to be able to layer the dress with a shirt underneath. I know a few of you are internal optimists and believe that summer will eventually come. Yeah. Whatever. :)

 

I made size 18 months, but added about two inches at the bottom. Next time I will lengthen the bodice as well. The fit is perfect. I love how well the pattern is made, really well done. Get your copy here.