Hot Air Balloon Dress

I finished Katie Anne's hot air balloon dress this afternoon during nap time. This was another dress from a pattern, but I used the directions as more of inspiration/loose suggestions instead of following them exactly. So, I'm not sure if the dress came out exactly as the directions intend, but it worked and it looks cute on Katie Anne!
I learned something new while making this dress. I made a pair of bloomers to match, and this is about my fifth attempt at bloomer making. I've always tried to make them without a pattern, and they've always wound up being big enough to fit a Cabbage Patch. I learned that you've got to cut the fabric way bigger than you think. When I cut these bloomers out, I thought they looked big enough to fit me! But, once I had them stitched up and put the elastic in, they fit Katie Anne just fine! (Which led me to think... just how big would I have to cut bloomers to really make them fit me?!) One leg of the bloomers is a bit longer than the other for some reason, but I don't think it really matters too much.
Here are some more pictures of the dress and Katie Anne wearing it after her nap. She loves it and is desperate to wear it to the grocery store in a few minutes, but it is still too cool outside to wear it today. It looks good and is comfortable on her, but I think it is just a smidge too big... it is a size 4, and I think a 3 would be perfect. The pattern I got is a 4-5-6, so this is the smallest choice I had. But, the good thing is that she won't outgrow it this summer, and I should get my money's worth out of this pattern for many summers to come!

Back of the dress...

My first time to ever sew a zipper!

Pretty girl in her finished dress!