Beach Baby Outfit

I like the way the rick rack bordered yo-yo sun turned out but wish I had placed it further to the side.

Though we’ve been extraordinarily busy, we took a moment to enjoy our first sort-of fall day here in Central Florida.  We actually turned off the AC and our hairy dog Hannah enjoyed napping on the breakfast porch instead of inside.

But after that brief moment, I was off to our son’s house to work on costumes.  Our 10 yo drama-loving granddaughter, Laurel, has written a woodland play which is in high gear production now.  As director, she had her cast of 8 girls alternately rehearsing and working on their leafy, nature-themed costumes.   I was busy sewing a shaggy white fleece stripe down the chipmunk’s brown hoodie and making a pastel colored mane for the unicorn. Who knew that 25 years after purchasing a fringe fork I would finally need and use it?

It was such fun to see all those junior thespians alternately rehearsing their scenes and working on their fairy, gnome, and evil witch’s outfits.  They had scored big at the local Goodwill where they found most of the foundations for their costumes.

But back to fall and the beach baby outfit.

This cool day (UNDER 85!!) reminded me that summer is nearly over and I haven’t yet posted this beach baby outfit.  It was one of the most enjoyable projects I have made in a long time.  Of course, there are things I wish I had done differently, like move the sun further to the right, but oh well.

I used the Marcy Bonnie Blue pattern which has been on my to-do list for some time.

Swiss pique’ was used for the top and the bottom was a delightful cotton water print that I wish I had bought more of.  The Brother embroidery designs were from various cards and collections I have. The new Nemo design is available at iBroidery.

The jumbo chenille rick rack has been in my stash for some time, but it just found its moment in the sun.  It was perfect to simulate beach sand above the water. Recalling our toddler granddaughter covered in sand when she plays at the beach, I thought more sand at the edge of the bloomers seemed appropriate.

Do you ever get carried away trying to make a scene more realistic?  Waaaaay too much time was spent locating and resizing seaweed, coral, and snails for this outfit.   I felt like a zealous marine biologist and forced myself  to stop what could have been a never ending search for underwater components. Finally I poked myself with a reminder that for goodness sake, this is a play outfit, not a watercolor painting of the beach!  But I do enjoy the process.

One tip I have for anyone sewing this pattern is to put the scallop border fabric on both sides at the hemline.   Doing so eliminates white fabric peeking out from the hemline.

In my on-going effort to add interest to the back of garments, I embroidered small beach designs between the buttons.

Time is just flying by.  This quick summer is coming to an end, even here in Florida.  After the next two weeks, I hope life will slow down a little.

Has your summer flown by?  What have you sewn these past few months?   Please share.