Penny's Blessing Dress

I seriously thought I was going to have a boy. When the ultrasound technician announced "girl," I had to ask her if she was sure.  She was. I was blindsided. Wow. A girl.

Not that I wasn't thrilled. I was. I was just completely caught off guard, and it took me a while to process it all. All I could think about was that I was going to have/get to design another blessing dress. Funny, the things your mind gets stuck on.

  

Fast forward a few months: the baby's here, the dress is done, and the baby's been blessed.

Designing this dress was a battle for me. I guess it took me a while to get back on track after designing for a little boy in my mind for months. 

I wanted Penny to have a dress as special as Teagan's but still be distinctly Penny's. I kept going back to the things I loved about Teagan's: a dress and an overcoat, playing with texture to add drama to a completely white dress, sophisticated details.

Details like the pleats and bow on the back inspired by this coat:

(Original Source) (Pinterest)

Details like the split cuff on the coat sleeves inspired by this "No Big Dill" dress.

Details like the petal sleeves on the dress that allowed for movement while still maintaining fit inspired by my sister-in-law's wedding dress. (She, her mom, and aunts designed and made her dress. Awesome, huh?)

I knew the sleeves wouldn't show, but I wanted/needed that detail to be there especially if I didn't get the coat done in time!

Thanks to my husband and in-laws, the dress and coat were done on time. It was a race to the finish line though.

Parts of this dress turned out just how I imagined. Other parts, not so much, but that's the way it always goes. In the end, I'm pleased.