Yesterday was Stella’s last prep “rest day”.  Not that we’ve had a great deal of rest on the day intended for prep children to recuperate from two straight days at school, to be followed by another two straight days at school.  Hey, she’s a former childcare kid!  She can handle full days at school!  Something I’ve already noticed since Stella started school is that she doesn’t need as many clothes.  She’s wearing uniform now, so it really was time that I sewed up the last summer dress that has been cut out languishing in the “to-sew” box for months now.  Before she grew out of it!

This is the Oliver + S Bubble Dress. It’s such a sweet pattern, and one of the earlier ones that Oliver + S produced. It’s now only available in digital download format. I sewed Stella’s dress in size 5, which is the largest that the pattern goes to.

Don’t you love that fabric? Don’t you want to reach out into the screen and stroke the silkiness of it? It is Anna Maria Horner Loulouthi voile. Yummmmmmm! The dress is fully lined, and I think that makes it particularly nice to wear.

There are three buttons to close the dress at the centre back. The hem has a shorter lining than outer, and is elasticised to give the bubble shape. The more eagle-eyed of you may have noticed the scallops running down the side seams of the skirt, adding to the “bubble” effect.

The little cut on cap sleeves are a nice touch too. I’m so glad that I managed to finish this while Stella still fits into it – and while it is still warm enough.

There’s not much left in the already cut out box now. I’ve almost completed a dress for me, then I think that there are around three or four more items. My plan is to either finish them before the end of March, or – gasp – dump them. Time to start the new year afresh – especially because February is almost over! And there are still some unfinished quilt tops and unquilted quilts awaiting my attention.