Playful Lawn Emery Dress

Happy Monday! Today I have a finished garment to share. I actually finished this dress in December, but have gotten really behind with photographing my handmade clothes! I know I am always saying this, but I hope to get caught up soon.


Michael and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary this past week and I wore this dress to dinner. I talked him into taking a few photos before we left! So far we've kept up a tradition of taking a photo together on our anniversary. Including our wedding day we've got three years of photos! Here's to many more.

Almost three years ago I saw an amazing dress at Quilt Market made from this beautiful vintage-y floral lawn from Playful by Melody Miller. I knew I'd have to snatch up some yardage of the print and make one exactly like it for myself. The dress pattern is the Emery Dress by Christine Haynes. This was before I had made the pattern (see my first Emery here), and this dress really pushed me over the edge.

Lucky for me I panic bought this fabric, so I have enough left over for another garment!

Fast forward to December of last year, I wanted a new dress to wear for Christmas and it was finally time to use this fabric! This pattern was so dreamy to sew up in lawn. I used Cambridge Lawn in ivory for the bodice lining, and a light blush colored thread throughout.

This dress turned out so pretty that I actually hand stitched the hem! This was completely new for me, and I never could have imagined a scenario where I would be willing to do it. I'm so glad I did, it was totally worth the extra time and care. The lawn is so light, I was afraid that simple top stitching on the hem would affect the hang of the skirt. I love how delicate the hand stitching makes it look.

I used this hand stitching tutorial by Christine on the Craftsy blog.


This past Christmas I wore the dress with a fuchsia cardigan to up the vintage vibe even more. This dress is a piece that makes me feel confident and pulled together, always a good thing to have in your closet. Plus it's super comfortable, an added bonus!

Happy Sewing!