Dress "h" and Bag "y" for my little "A'

It's Monday here in my time zone, so why not kick off the gate-crashing of Japanese Sewing Book Series with something I made over the weekend. I'm getting in early as I want to make another dress and then get outta town for the Easter long weekend.
I've made dress "h" and bag "y" from Sassy Girl's Clothes by Yuki Araki


image from: http://www.etsy.com/shop/pomadour24
 

I was a little baffled by the pattern pieces for the dress but surprisingly I guessed correctly and it came together very well. The bag was very simple and quite fun to sew. I'm not all that fast (the Lightning moniker is a bit of a joke at my own expense) but the bag really is about one hour's work.
So, my finished outfit:

 

The dress is made of a heavy-ish navy knit which has a slightly brushed, and lovely soft, feel on each side. Hence, I had no idea which side was the right or wrong side, and stopped caring after cutting the pattern. And so, my dress has the buttons on the opposite shoulder to the instructions in the book. I could invert my images but if I start manipulating the truth only four posts into my new blog it could be a slippery slope....

 

 

The buttons are metal and perhaps a little heavy for such a little person, but I liked them. One day, no doubt, they'll have to be butterfly or flower buttons, but for now I can still impose my own style on this kid, and these seemed to suit the Japanese aesthetic.

 

 

The bag fabric is a printed cotton that I found heavily discounted at the local fabric chain store. I covered it with iron-on vinyl, which is one of those things that really ought not to be such fun, but it is. It takes me back to being in the school library and helping the librarians cover books with clear Contact. Anyway, this is a bit crinkly and a true laminate might be better if it was meant to last. The bag lining is a lightweight grey cotton.

 

 

I love the fit of the dress. I made the size 90cm with no modifications for A who is just over 2 years old and probably about 85cm tall. I'd like a dress as comfortable and easy to wear as this!

 

 

She's very happy with it, and with her new bag. Although nothing beats rummaging around in my handbag...

 

 

Finally, here's how she thinks modelling for photos really works. If her big brother does it like this, then it must be right. Right?!