Today I’m helping celebrate the first birthday of Bella Sunshine Designs.  And since I would rather be sewing than baking, I sewed up a fun version, or two, of the Adaline Dress  (You can get it for $5.97 during the birthday sale).  Be sure to read all the way to the end of this post because there is a huge give away and sale information included as part of the celebration!  Although this tour is sponsored, all opinions are my own. *This post does contain affiliate links, which means if you decide you need this pattern or others and purchase it through a link in this post, I could earn some money to buy more fabric. 🙂

Find the other stops on the tour for today at Bella Sunshine Designs Day 4 Round-up.

Today Adaline gets pockets. These aren’t just inseam pockets, but frontier pockets (front hip pockets)! Yap, I had to Google around to find out if they had a name, and what do you know, they do!

I just love the pop of color and accent that you can have with the color blocked bodice on the Adaline Dress and Tunic.  I thought adding another feature to offer additional color pop would be just perfect.  Pockets are always a plus for my girls.  They just love to carry around little figurines and critters…pretend ones that is.

I thought I would share how I created these pockets in case you want to add some as well.  I stitched up two dresses and created the pockets slightly different on each dress.

Pocket Tutorial:

1.  Create a pocket template/pattern piece by cutting out the pocket shape you desire from a sheet of paper.  This piece will be the back pocket lining.  Cut 2 Mirror Images from accent fabric as this is the piece of the pocket we will see.  Figure A.

2. Using the Back Pocket Lining Piece cut a curve from the corner of this piece.  This new piece will be the Front Pocket Lining Template.  (Don’t throw the corner cut-out away, we will use it in a moment.) Cut 2 Mirror Images of Front Pocket Lining. Figure B.

3.  Use the Pocket Cut-Out Piece as a template to cut out the corners from the front skirt panel.  Don’t forget to use mirror images. Figure C.

4. With right sides of Front Pocket Lining Pieces to right sides Front Skirt Panels, pin and sew at the curved pocket edge. Flip pocket lining pieces over, press, and topstitch.     Figure D.

5. Lay Front Skirt Panel wrong side facing up. Place Back Pocket Lining Piece right sides together with Front Pocket lining piece.  Sew and serge raw edge. Figure E.

6. Baste Pocket Lining Pieces to Front Skirt Panel at the top and sides.  Continue skirt construction per instructions. Figure F.

*Note.   The pink accent dress has pockets that are smaller and not gathered at the pocket lining. For this skirt, I shortened the skirt width by two inches before following the steps listed in the tutorial above.  The orange accent dress has larger pockets that are gathered along with the skirt.  These small differences created two different looks for the skirts in the dresses.

Here are some fun photos we snapped at the mall while trying to survive another round of freezing rain and snow. Summer… Please come soon!

So, what do you think?  Will you try to add some extra color pop to your next Adaline with some pockets too? This is my first attempt at a tutorial, so feel free to share some feedback. Would photos been easier to follow?  I’m so happy with this dress pattern and my final product. The pattern directions include many details that allow for a clean finish on the inside of this dress. Often times patterns omit details like these, and I was happy to use a pattern that takes care to make sure everything is finished in a professional manner. The skirt seam and sleeve seams are both enclosed within the bodice lining. Who doesn’t love that?

Be sure to check out all the tour stops, prizes, and sale information below.  There are a lot of goodies you don’t want to miss out on.

Bella Sunshine Designs Birthday Blog Tour

Featured Bloggers:

House of Estrela | Pattern Revolution | Pleats & Ruffles
Itch to Stitch | Fabulous Home Sewn | Sew Sophie Lynn
Sewing by Ti | Made By Sara | Candice Ayala
Seaside Notions | Pear Berry Lane | Made By Melli
Adventures With Bubbe and Bug | Crazy Crafty Haute Mama | Rebel & Malice

Sponsors:

Prize Number 1:

Bella Sunshine Designs – 2 Patterns of Choice
Once Upon A Yard / Sew It Seams Facebook Group – Grab Bag of 7 yards of fabric

Prize Number 2 (Just for the USA):

Bella Sunshine Designs – 2 Pattern of Choice
Bethany Lane – 3 Sets of “Cute as a Button” wooden buttons (30 buttons total)

Prize Number 3:

Bella Sunshine Designs – 2 Patterns of Choice
Sofilantjes Patterns – 2 Patterns of Choice
Knot Sew Normal – 1 Pattern of Choice
Muffin Head Patterns – Any 1 pattern up to $12.00
Itch To Stitch – 1 Pattern of Choice
Rachel Rossi – Squared Fashion Wrap Sewing Pattern
FABulous Home Sewn – 1 Pattern of choice
Seaside Notions – 1 pattern of choice
Laela Jeyne Patterns – Pattern of choice (excludes bundles)
Pickle Toes Patterns – 1 Pattern of choice.

Enter the giveaway:

Hurry, the giveaway ends on Sunday, February 28th at midnight! The Final Giveaway Announcement will be posted on Monday the 29th via the following link.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Celebration Sales:

Mabel Madison – 10% off their website with coupon code BELLABIRTHDAY until February 29th.
Sew It Seams – 15% off their website with coupon code BELLASUN until February 29th.

And of course, you can get 40% off all Bella Sunshine Designs patterns on our website until February 29th. No coupon code needed!

Ready for one more surprise? Check out the Bella Sunshine Designs website on Friday for a new release or two!