Ladybug~Fill in the Blank

This is the photo on www.allaboutblanks.com website.

It comes in pink or white in sizes 12 months to 6.

This photo is also from the All About Blanks website www.allaboutblanks.com

 Paired up with a pair of cocktail napkins for pockets, also from All About Blanks the dress was on its way to becoming the contemporary style  ladybug dress above.  FYI, I have no affiliation with that business other than that of a satisfied customer.

The pocket embroidery is from Zundt Design’s Pissaro Collection www.zundtdesign.com.  The three bugs have been rotated slightly from their due north direction.

These  Pissaro embroideries are very stitch intensive, so I used cutaway on the pockets.  I wish I had used something softer.  The embroidery is perfectly flat but I chose to keep the entire white area stabilized.  Bad decision.   The wrinkles are very distracting.

The “L” monogram on the bodice is from Monogram Wizard 2 and  has been modified to include the smallest ladybug.  This bug was extracted from the group of three, then reduced by 20% in BuzzSize and finally inserted into the “L” loop.

Easter Sunday, as the children were lined up in their finery, Laurel asked just why it was that Robert’s collar had a sailboat and Alastair’s had a train but all she got was an “L”?  Well, I felt her pain and I heard her plea!  From now on, I will try  include a figure of one kind or another in her monograms so she won’t feel shortchanged.

The neck binding lines up perfectly at the button. But it was a breezy day, causing the dress to shift on the hanger.

With Elizabeth Travis Johnson’s advice ringing in my ears, I added ladybugs between the buttonholes on the back.  They are from Amazing Designs Ladybug collection.  The plastic utility buttons were replaced with mother-of pearl and sewn on with red thread.

The final modification I made to the dress was to top stitch in black thread around the neckline and armholes.  I used 12 wt Coty thread, #90 needle and a 3.0 length to  straight stitch right over the existing white topstitching that holds the bias binding in place.

The drawn thread work near the hemline is such a nice, heirloom touch to an otherwise contempory dress.  If this came in larger sizes, I would stock up.  Anyone whose time is limited would enjoy working on these “blanks.”