Lulu Dress and Top

I have long been a fan of the creativity of Jess at Craftiness is Not Optional .  So last week, when I received an email from her telling me that I had been chosen to be a pattern tester for her new Lulu Top and Dress, I kind of felt like I had won the lottery.  (Ok, I'd probably be much more excited if I won the lottery, but I was still pretty excited).  So this past week was spent sewing up a couple of versions of the pattern and admiring the work of the other testers and having fun while doing all of it.

This is a GREAT pattern-- easy and quick to sew, versatile, can be every-day wear, and it's really, really adorable.  The pattern has two options, a top and a dress length, and then a number of variations that can be added: cap sleeves or sleeveless, a tie bow, faux button placket, top pocket, and skirt pockets.  It's also a great opportunity to combine fun fabrics!

The first version I made was the top.   I used an upcycled t-shirt for the top, and some vintage hand-me-down fabric for the skirt. I also added the top pocket. It fit perfectly!  For the top, it only takes a 1/2 yard of fabric for the skirt, so it's a great way to use up some of the smaller pieces in a fabric stash.

 

 After the top turned out so well I of course needed to make a dress.  Once again I used an upcycled tee for the top, and then for the bottom I used this pink fox fabric from Joann's.  I had been hoarding this fabric for a number of months, and this finally seemed like a worthy project to use it on-- and it didn't take nearly the yard that it called for, so I still have enough left over for something else.  

I LOVE how this turned out.  I could say more but I'd just be gushing.  So I'll leave it at that.  And here's one more picture showing off the pockets:

 And one more just because it's so cute:

The pattern was just released today, so go check it-- it's a great project for this weekend!