if i had one regret about my 2015 sewing it's that I didn't make enough for my older nieces nora and etta. at 5 and 7 they are a tad pickier than 3 year old maya and baby neela. so I promised myself the first project of 2016 would be for them.

when oliver + s announced their pattern mash up challenge i knew i had to try it. so over the next few weeks of commuting i developed a vision came together that combined four different oliver + s patterns.

I knew the fabric would be the mustang heart from cotton and steel that victor's aunt and uncle had given me for the holidays. looking through my stash I found a soft orange cotton that accented the coral and tangerine hearts perfectly.

i started with view b of the jump rope dress, a style I've admired since seeing gail's version for stylo. that placket was a little intimidating but with the oliver + s instructions it came out beautifully (and my pattern matching is pretty sublime if I do say so myself).

I used the accent color for the inner placket fabric, which lends a little pop of color.

i also was able to sneak in the accent color on the under collar.

since it's a shirt dress I decided to add in the swooping shirt hem line from the sailboat top.

to accomplish this I had to modify the slightly a-line style of the jump rope dress to a more straight cut, extending down from the arm perpendicular. this ended up only taking about an inch from the width and the bottom.

i completed the hem with a facing in my accent color.

the print was had a distinct repeat so I knew the gathered patch pockets from the jump rope dress, while adorable, wouldn't work. so I used the inseam ones from the playtime dress. Naturally I used this as another opportunity to sneak in my accent fabric.