What Does The Fox Say? Toddler Dress with Fox Quilt Block

I participated in the the Top Stitchers competition this week. It has been so fun! My challenge was to combine 2 different styles (quilting and clothing)

This is what I came up with!

A dress inspired by a Fox Quilt Block

Fox Ears Headband complete with cute little flowers

Zipper Pouch featuring a miniature Fox Quilt Block~Rag Quilt Style

When I first found out about the Top Stitchers Challenge, I thought "This sounds like fun".  Little did I know crazy fun, intimidating, challenging, and fun (did I mention Fun already?).  Once I found out all the guidelines, I started to wonder "what did I get myself into?!?"

I have sewn clothes, but not much.  My girls love it when I whip out a cute little circle dress right before church.  Nothing complicated.  Quick. Simple. Cute.  That's it.  Ask me to make something more complicated than that and I probably would tell you Nope. 

But when it comes to quilting, the more complicated and challenging it is, the better.  I have made a living out of sewing rag quilts and selling them in my online shop, even creating rag quilt patterns, so that others can learn to make these out of the box styles of rag quilts. 

So when I was issued the challenge of incorporating 2 things that I love doing (one that I am pretty good at and the other, not so much).

My inspiration for this dress came from Elizabeth Hartman's Fancy Fox Quilt Pattern.  I have been seeing this quilt block pop up all over instagram and have been dying to try it out.  So I knew which quilt block I would give a go.  Next up for me was the hard part, figuring out how to incorporate it into clothing.  Wearable clothing at that!

After much searching and pondering what I could handle as far as making clothing, I remembered this dress that I had made a couple years ago.  It is a bustle top pattern by Sumo Sweet Stuff.  It was perfect.  It is cute ✓, it has a spot for the fox block ✓, and I can tackle it with my limited knowledge of clothing making ✓.

Its all business in the front and party in the back.

Next up, no little girl outfit is complete without a cute headband, Right?  So La Bella Rose Boutique came to the rescue with the cute headband and flowers.  I then decided last minute that she really needed some ears.  Every Fox needs Pointy Ears!

Next up, I landed right back in my comfort zone.  Kinda.  I had to accessorize her just a bit more, so I made her the cute fox face zipper pouch clutch.  Rag Quilt Style

I think she was more excited about having a purse than she was about her outfit.   I haven't had a ton of experience sewing with zippers, and I had just ordered these cute little lace zippers, so I gave it a try adding one onto her cute little clutch.

A few little side notes:  The white shirt came from Target. I didn't purchase the quilt block.  I couldn't find anywhere what size the finished block was to know if it would work for this dress.  So I just winged it.  It would have been a heck of a lot faster to just buy the pattern, but then I didn't know if the finished size would be right.  I didn't dare take the chance.  Plus, at 11 pm at night when I finally had a second to sit down and get this outfit going, I didn't want to take the time waiting for a reply.  Patience is definitely something I need to work on *wink, wink*  I used fabrics from Riley Blake Designs. They are all 100% cotton. 



It took me a couple photo shoots to get this girl and the weather to cooperate with me.  She gave me lots of sad pouty faces:

and then lots of sass:

I hope you enjoyed my cute little girl and the outfit she is modeling.  She is all sass!  This was a fun challenge for me.  I enjoyed stretching myself and trying new techniques.  I don't normally participate in these types of challenges. They are way out of my comfort zone!  I didn't realize when I volunteered to be a part of Top Stitchers what it really entailed.  I don't think I would have asked to be a part, if I would have known.  But I am so glad that I did!  It has been an absolute joy!  I hope that you enjoyed it as much as I have! 

Make sure to stop by Freenotion.com and enter your score and see the other amazing entry!  Becca made the most gorgeous and hip quilted jacket you will ever see!