Dress for a very special occasion

I spent time this summer working on a special dress for a very special girl.  Ruby will wear this dress before and after her baptism on Saturday.  In our church, children are baptized at the age of eight.  Learn more here.

Some months ago my sweet Ruby called and asked if I would make her a dress for this very special day.  Of course I said "yes."  I went to my Australian Smocking & Embroidery magazines and pulled out several with dresses which worked size wise and were for special occasions.  Then I let Ruby select the one that she liked best.

She selected "Aine" from issue number 89 .  I must tell you that I am very sad that this magazine will end with issue 100 due out in a few weeks.  It has been my inspiration.  Thank goodness there are many previous issues on my shelf.

Ruby wanted a bit of color on her white dress and these are the colors that she selected for the smocking.

I ordered the matching peach piping and lace trim from Farmhouse Fabrics.  The lace trim came 5 inches wide and I trimmed and gathered it for the neck ruffle and also cut the cap sleeves from it.  I thought that the cap sleeves looked a bit tight in the magazine pictures so I cut it a tad bigger than the pattern.

This is the bottom of the skirt.  I already had this Swiss cotton border fabric which was used for the bodice and skirt of the dress.

The dress is completely lined with white Swiss voile also ordered from Farmhouse Fabrics.

I love the back neckline which I raised just a bit from the pattern in the magazine.

It has lovely flower shaped buttons also purchased from Farmhouse Fabrics.  I honestly don't know what I would do about fabrics and notions for special dresses without online fabric stores like Farmhouse.

I think it is the perfect dress for a beautiful eight year old to wear on her baptism day in hot Arizona during August.