A Pair of Christmas Dresses

 
My father-in-law loaded me up with two bags of dress shirts this summer when he realized how serious I was about my clothing line, Little Grey Line. He had mentioned that he would look in his closet to see if he had any shirts he no longer wore, but I never imagined he'd show up with over a dozen shirts for me to repurpose. (I made a couple of them into dresses for Adeline and her cousin, Reagan, this summer for our family beach trip.)
When I sorted the loot, I saved these two (nearly identical) shirts because I knew the color and pattern would be perfect for Christmas dresses for the girls.

Since I had just finished a dress for a friend that incorporated the front pocket so adorably, I decided to utilize that design for these two dresses as well. Additionally, I thought it would be fun for the girls to be able to put some Christmas treats in their pockets!

The styles are identical but Adeline's dress has a slightly larger pattern which I thought would be more appropriate for a larger size (2T). Regan's dress was sized for 18 months. Each dress repurposes the original button placket for the back of the dress and also incorporates the sleeves and cuffs (resized for little ones, of course).

Judging by Adeline's face in the picture below, I'm not so sure she was impressed with the dress, but I can promise you that it meant the world to my father-in-law to see his two granddaughters wearing his shirts. And because these shirts had probably been washed and worn hundreds of times, they were so soft that it made them absolutely irresistible to hug.

SMB

My greatest compliments for Little Grey Line come when someone asks me to do another dress for them. I made a dress this summer for a college friend's daughter from her husband's shirt and then I received another commission from her before Christmas. This second dress would be presented to her father as a Christmas present. 

 
The most exciting part of this classic, blue dress shirt was the monogrammed front pocket which displayed my friend's fathers' initials. It was very important to incorporate this into the dress so I decided to utilize the entire pocket and make it part of the full skirt.

Since the first commission was a summer dress, I made a winter dress with long sleeves that rescaled the existing sleeves and cuffs from the original shirt.  The button placket from the front of the dress shirt was incorporated into the back of the dress so that it would be easy to remove as well as iron. 

 

I heard from my friend after Christmas and this was her comment regarding the dress:

"I got the shirt and it's the most precious dress ever. My father was deeply touched and impressed with your talents. You are amazing. Thanks again for making Christmas extra special!"

I couldn't ask for a better compliment. 

 

It feels good to be loved!

Thank you so much for this special mention, Triangle Honeymoon! You just illustrated why I love making each and every dress.

delivered!

Last week I delivered sixteen (16!) dresses to Babiology! I was so proud to finish them and take them in as one big collection. One of the owners, Velvet Baker, had presented me with twenty-two dress shirts and I had so much fun transforming them for their store. 

I was a bit overwhelmed at first with this commission but quickly got into the pace of making more than one dress in more than one size at a time. I found it was quite therapeutic, actually. 

We wanted all of the dresses to be long-sleeve for the fall and winter so I designed three different styles in sizes ranging from 18 months to 5T. I am eager to hear how well they sell. I am most excited about hearing feedback on the designs and craft. 

Here are a few photographs of some of the dresses that will soon be for sale at Babiology!

recent work

I have been blessed with a ton of commissions over the past two months so I thought I would share a few images. 

This was my Dad's shirt. It was is great condition and I remember him wearing it often. I thought it would be fun to play with shoulder straps that tie different ways. I made them extra long so that I could tie a bow in the back or in the front or double wrap the waist and use a simple knot tie in the back. (I made this for my daughter, so technically not a commission.)

My sweet friend (and an incredible mother) commissioned this dress for her sister's baby shower. She brought me one of their father's shirts and I made a dress for her soon-to-be-born niece and her son. I loved the yellow seersucker fabric.

I love a little girl in blue! This dress will be perfect for its owner. It's very simple but stays true to the original shirt (with just a touch of femininity). Hopefully she will enjoy wearing it.

 

This shirt started out as a womens dress shirt and a few things I really liked about it was the color and the cuffs. There is a little grey line (!) throughout the fabric so I played that up by accentuating the button placket with grey bias tape along the edge. I used the original sleeve and cuffs but shortened them so that they would hit about 3/4 length. The dress is size 3T. 

One of my husband's oldest childhood friends has been really kind to support my work and recently asked me to make a dress for his daughter (size 4T) and a coordinating belt for his older son. I loved working this blue and white oxford fabric (and they are UNC fans so the color combination works double-duty!).  My favorite part is the way the shoulder straps attach to the back of the dress. I used the sleeve buttons and fabric to piece these in. (I only wish I had ironed it a bit better before taking these photos...)

My great-uncle commissioned this dress for his son's daughter. He has a blue shirt just like this yellow one he brought me to transform and he's going to wear it when he gives this dress as a birthday gift. (He loves the sentimental stuff as much as I do!)