Puppet show: The encore performance

In my quest to put together a few little outfits for Katherine's summer wardrobe, I pulled out the Oliver + S Puppet show shorts pattern again. This pair I made out of some chambray scraps I had leftover from this dress I made earlier in the year. I paired them with a top from a Japanese pattern book I bought a while ago (from this Etsy seller, if anyone is interested). It was my first attempt at a project from this book, and went better than I expected, really, considering I can't read a word of Japanese!

The fabric I used for the top is from the Out to Sea range and originally I had it in mind for a little collared shirt from the same pattern book, but I just didn't have enough (even if I was to cut it slightly off-grain... which I wouldn't have... but well, I did check!  I really wanted to make that shirt!)

Instead I settled for this one with a pretty yoke and flutter sleeves.  It is actually a dress but I shortened it to turn it into a tunic-length top.  The original pattern also seemed very full in the bodice so I took an inch or two of the fullness out, and there is still plenty of room for my skinny minnie.  She's looking particularly gaunt here as she's just got over a bout of gastro.  I swear, I really do feed my children!

I wanted to add piping under the yoke but had run out of piping cord, so I stitched a piece of ribbon into the seam there instead, and added a little matching ribbon bow to pretty it up a bit too.

I put a button closure on the back as I was worried about room for her head.  The original pattern was just a pop-over style, which I couldn't see working.  Maybe it was supposed to be made out of knit - if only I could read Japanese!  I had a quick look at the step-by-step diagrams and then went ahead and assembled it in a very similar fashion to the Oliver + S Icecream dress.  It's not how it was done in the book, but to me it made the most sense to do it that way.

I used leftovers for the pocket trim and leg binding on the shorts, as I didn't have enough chambray to go around.  This is one thrifty pair of shorts!  I won't tell you how I pieced the waistband together... notice there are no shots of it.  Hmm...

She's almost set for summer.