Oliver & S Playtime Dress in Liberty Corduroy

I am really struggling to find time to sew at the moment. Part of this is lack of motivation but also part of it is just a general malaise so when I have finished for the day and go to get my sewing stuff out I find I just don't have the energy!  I wish this meant I was doing more knitting to make up for it but unfortunately I find I am not really doing anything. I am sure this will pass but to try to ease myself back into the rhythm of things I thought I would make a pretty but practical dress for my daughter's 6th birthday - sadly this wasn't finished in time for her birthday but it is here at last!

The pattern is the Oliver & S Playtime Dress which I hadn't bought previously and now I'm not sure why.  The pattern consists of a tunic length dress, this length dress and a pair of leggings so it is very versatile.  The dress can be made from either woven or jersey and this is exactly the sort of thing my daughter likes wearing.  I made the size 6 for this dress and as you can see from the photos it is quite large on her at the moment.  She will grow though, and with fabric like this I want to get as much wear out of clothes as possible!

I bought the fabric from Sewbox with very vague plans to make a Christmas dress, or maybe another pair of dungalottes.  I didn't want the fabric to sit and marinade in my stash for ages and not get used up but at the same time I wanted to find a good pattern for the fabric that would make the most of it and be the sort of thing that would be worn. I didn't want this fabric to end up as something too special to be worn regularly and therefore not get value for money from it!  I bought some other bits of Liberty fabrics at the same time so hopefully they will make their way into the child's wardrobe fairly soon.

As this is the first time I have made this pattern I sewed it up exactly as per the pattern but next time I think I would like to add a collar, and maybe elasticated cuffs (I still may change these).  One of the things I love about this pattern is the stitched down facings.  I really hate facings normally because they flap about but as these are stitched down I decided they could stay!  I used some dusky pink linen look cotton for the facings and pockets left over from another project and some mauve mother of pearl type buttons which I am pretty sure I bought with something in mind but cannot remember what!  

I love Oliver & S patterns because the instructions are fantastic, I have learnt so much sewing from them over the years, they are the first place I go when looking for new clothes patterns for the child.  I have also just bought the Lunch Box Tee and Culottes which I'm hoping to have sewn up this week and I've got my eye on the Carousel Dress, although I'm not sure I can justify that having bought two other patterns and with so many other patterns I already own.  The child is badly in need of clothes, so badly that I bought her some for the first time in years a few weeks back, so I'm hoping to channel my limited energies into replenishing her wardrobe with a view to getting my motivation back!