given that my parents were hippie baby boomers who joined a tofu co-op in the early 90's, it's not surprising that there weren't a ton of rules in the kempner house. (in hindsight the fact that we were all naturally good kids who liked school, had nice friends, and weren't too boy crazy was probably conducive to and thus afforded a laissez faire approach to parenting.)

one of the few rules that was regularly enforced was that if the beatles were playing you couldn't change it or turn it off.

when i came home from a verb for keeping warm (one of my favorite fabric stores in the bay area) with this fabric from amy butler's lark collection vic looked up from whatever sporting event he was watching and said "you know it sorta looks like the cover of a beatles album."

so obvious right?

i hemmed and hawed over what to use this fabric for and finally decided to make maya a playtime dress by oliver + s. however when i was looking at the cut pieces it became painfully obvious that the sleeves of the dress awkwardly cut off the big bold print of the fabric.

so i did what one always does in these situations: i had a black ipa from 21st amendment brewery and called an audible to go with the bodice from the bubble dress (another oliver + s pattern).

i used a spring-y green voile (also from a verb for keeping warm) to line the bodice, make the pockets, and for flat pipping i added along the bottom of the bodice (using the method i picked up when sewing the library dress from oliver + s).

to say this dress was a hit would be an understatement. the cut allows it to be worn with or without a long sleeved t-shirt and leggings underneath so it is appropriate year round. also the colors in the dress mean just about any solid color can go with it.

my sister loved the fabric so much she requested a matching infinity scarf. general life rule: when your pregnant sister requests something reasonable, be it your hulu login so she can watch trashy tv from the bathroom between waves of morning sickness or a yard of fabric sewn with two seams, you should always oblige her.

(like my vintage dress form? she looks beat up in the photo but she's actually really awesome and is without a doubt my favorite piece of furniture. i bought her back in 2009 from this great architectural salvage store in nyc. fun story, but for another time.)

by this point i knew i had to make nora and etta something out of this fabric, so i went back to pick up more. when they only had 1 and 7/8 yards left my decision on what to sew was made for me: roller skate dresses by oliver + s.

i used the same green voile for the lining and added poppy grosgrain ribbon (from britex fabrics in san francisco) along the lining trim. for the secret sissy buttons i used two sparkly snowflake buttons i picked up at a stitch in time in jackson hole, wyoming. they were originally intended for their their winter pjs, but that is another story.

speaking of buttons, in the back i used these buttons we had bought a few months back at the fabric depot in portland (and had intended to use for their poppy dresses).

nora and etta loved their dresses, and the big bold print worked wonderfully with the simple lines of the roller skate dress.

last but not least i squeezed a 2+2 blouse by oliver + s out of the last scraps of this fabric for little neela. she hasn't quite grown into it yet, but i'm sure it will look darling when she does. (update: she does!)