Tailgating Attire

Okay y’all. First thing’s first. I’m not technically an Auburn fan. However, I am 1000% a fan of Auburn tailgating. One of my sisters currently attends Auburn Veterinary School. Getting to visit her and also attend games is a blast. Luke and I had the pleasure of attending a game last year and I absolutely LOVE how family friendly, fun, and rich in tradition the atmosphere is there. So naturally; We can’t wait to visit their “favorite aunt” (she’s named herself that) for a football game this year.

When in Rome, dress as the Romans…right? Our impending visit with my sister provides me with the perfect excuse to make the kiddos matching outfits. When looking for inspiration I ran across this gorgeous dress from Amaia Kids….The pleats on the bodice, the belt… its swoon-worthy. It’s pretty clearly a Victoria with a few modifications. As y’all know…I love hacking outfits. Using this as my inspiration for Maria’s Auburn Dress seemed only natural. This was also the impetus for Robby’s little button on. The pleats on this bodice reminded me of the pleats on the Children’s Corner Basics for Boys III shirt (view B).

To make the dress I actually used the same Boy’s Basics pattern top as a template for the pleats on the Victoria bodice. Because the pleats on the dress and the pleats on the shirt needed to be the same width to get the right feel. I pleated the fabric prior to cutting the Victoria bodice piece out. Eliminating a need for a specific pleated bodice pattern. The belt was adjusted To be a bit wider. The pattern piece was 2.5 inches wide, so the finished belt is 2 inches wide. The tab width was increased and the shape changed to accommodate my embroidery file. I had a heckuva time getting the one included in the pattern to look nice. After making about five of them, I accepted defeat and modified the shape. I plan to get some help with that next time I go to children’s corner!

I chose this Fabric Finders fabric from Farmhouse Fabrics mainly because I’m a sucker for a check and the colors are perfect. As with all Fabric Finder’s Fabric, it comes in 60 inch width. The extra width makes me feel like I get so much more fabric for a better price. The best part about these little outfits are that they are not one-hit-wonders. The tabs allow for them to be used for fall too.

Random things I learned/tried while making these outfits:

• I used tape to hold my pleats in place after I ironed them-helped a lot! See picture below.
• This “Rajah Cloth” helped A TON with ironing the pleats in place. It was recommended to me on my facebook page and its fantastic!
• I ironed some baby interfacing on my white broadcloth prior to embroidering it…it helped with puckering. Not sure why, but I have a difficult time machine embroidering on pimaline… so this time adding the baby interfacing and putting 3 layers of “stitch and ditch” behind my normal sticky tearaway stabilizer did the trick.

Anyway, hope y’all enjoy! Happy sewing!