Many months ago I had the pleasure of testing a few of the Blank Slate Patterns (affiliate link) first releases. I was a busy busy mother of a little baby then (as opposed to the mother of a toddler with TONS of free time, yeah right) and didn’t get a chance to blog about the results. So over the next few weeks I thought I’d do a few posts about the amazing patterns available from Melissa through Blank Slate Patterns.
First up is the Little Bow Pleat Dress. Big bows are all the rage on little girl dresses and this does not disappoint. The pattern testing version I made originally used the big bow pattern pieces and I love how it turned out. However, the other day I was thinking about making a St Patrick’s Day dress for Bean and I decided to make another Little Bow Pleat Dress with a minor twist.
In order to make the dress wearable for every occasion, I did the bow a bit different this time. I made two button holes in the front edges of the pleat so I can string any ribbon through to change up the look of the dress. To be clear, the holes just go through the pleat layer and not through the whole dress front.
I got the idea from a skirt that Simple Simon & Co did a while ago called the Any Occasion Skirt where they strung different ribbons through holes at the bottom of a skirt to match the day’s look. Cute right?
I of course had to make the dress in this year’s Pantone color of the year. I was very excited when they announced it would be emerald. Green is my absolute favorite color and I know it’ll get a lot of mileage this year, hehe.
I also made the St. Patrick’s day shamrock ribbon since I didn’t have one that would work in my stash. I made a shamrock design and then printed it out onto iron on transfer paper. Then I transferred the pattern onto some white grosgrain ribbon I had. I think it turned out great!
Yes, Bean is standing on her Peter Rabbit book. She’s also eating an apple. I’ll do anything these days to try to get her to stand still long enough for a picture, hehe.
Here she’s only pausing long enough to sign “more” so I’ll give her more apple slices.
I think the shape of the Little Bow Pleat dress is adorable. It’s roomy and comfy, but has a nice finished collar and sleeves so it can be used to dress up or down. By adding the button holes in front, I added even more options.
This one might be my favorite since I adore pink and green together.
And here is a different shade of green with a different type of bow. It’s more of a floppy double bow and looks really cute.
Of course don’t forget about other holidays. Above, I just used a piece of a red bias strip I had from another project to make a cute Christmasy bow. This would be so fun for Christmas.
Lastly, when I ask Bean to smile she gets as close to the camera as she can and makes this face.
(I should mention that I have recently added an affiliate link for Blank Slate Patterns on my sidebar as well as in some of the links in this post, but I sewed everything I’ll be posting about long before even considering it. These are just great patterns that I truly stand by and I am excited about being an affiliate.)
As usual, linking up to: 
I love it! That was an awesome idea for the button-holes to change out the ribbons!
I love that you can change out the ribbon…that's a fabulous idea.:)
What a GREAT idea with the interchangeable bow! Super sweet. I love the light pink with that green…
Love that shade of green, and what a great idea to but buttonholes in the front so you can change out the ribbons! I may have to borrow that sometime…
Love the interchangeable bow! Brilliant. Seriously.
This dress is absolutely darling! Thanks for sharing!
I like the bow tied up and floppy. It's kind of Mary Tyler Mooreish but then it's out of the way.
Oh and I love the green fabric.
This pattern is on my want list and I'm geeking out over your tweak! Can I ask where you picked up the fabric, that shade of green is fantastic.(I wasn't sold on Emerald but it is rapidly growing on me! -Rachel
I love this dress. The interchangeable bow is very cute. That was the only thing holding me back from buying this dress was the big bow. So, this shows I have options with it. ~ Major Moma
Rachel, it's a bottom-weight fabric I picked up at JoAnn's about 5 or 6 years ago. Crazy right? haha I bought some blue at the same time. It is the best fabric. Soft and a tiny bit shiny with a little stretch too. And both colors are bright and gorgeous. I've used both in projects I've blogged about here a few times before. I still haven't run out either 🙂 I have no idea if they still have any (would love some in pink!) but I hope you're able to find it!
Major Moma, the best part about Melissa's patterns is that you can really change things up to make it your own. That's the "blank slate" part of Blank Slate Patterns 🙂
SUCH a pretty dress! I love the color and I love the buttonhole idea, my daughter has a sweater vest that has the same button hole design to add a pom pom tassel to the bottom corner–real good idea with toddlers too because they can't really get them off. Love the dress again–i might have to buy this pattern now too :-/
What a fabulous dress, and a great idea to change out the ribbons!
very cute!! great idea to change ribbons too.
http://www.dollycreates.blogspot.com
SO cute and clever!!
fun idea to switch out the bows! that green is such a glamorous color! love it
seriously cute. great job