Birdie’s vintage sheet Mini Darling Ranges dress is her current obsession and Lord help you if you try and convince her to wear something else! I can’t even describe from you the immense satisfaction I feel when my kids decide that one of my patterns is their favourite garment. Seeing my family enjoy something I’ve made is the pinnacle for me.
My wonderful sample maker Krystal made this Mini Darling Ranges dress during our very long testing process. Mini Darling Ranges has to got to be one of the longest development runs we’ve ever had. The first post I could find about it is back in 2017 when I made Bunny a costume for Book Week and we released it in lat 2020 so it was over three years of tweaks. My goodness! By the end of it I am shocked that Krystal was still happy to sew more samples and hadn’t quit haha.
We often use thrifted sheets to sew our toiles during testing, and I really feel like some of the most gorgeous prints are found in vintage sheets. One of my favourites is this pink Mini Darling Ranges that we made for Bunny during testing and she wore till it was skin tight. This one is no exception and we have used it for so many toiles and of course this sample. It is a size 8 and was originally intended for Bunny to wear and test out, but though green is her favourite colour this dress never really excited her and I can’t remember her wearing it.
I keep everything and each season i like to pull out things of Bunny’s that she has grown out of and are still in good condition that I can then put in Birdie’s wardrobe. When this dress hit her wardrobe it was love at first sight! Even though it’s still a bit big for her, and the hem is much too long (Bunny was taller than little Birdie at this age) she will not stop wearing it. She wears it so often I actually had to ask her to try mixing in some other garments because they’re not getting any love haha.
The great thing about this dress being a tad big for her right now is that i’m sure she will still be able to wear it next summer – which will make her little heart so happy. And for me – I’m so happy that this pretty little dress made it into her wardrobe and has become a staple in her active little life spreading sunshine and hugs wherever she goes!
