{Riley Blake Designs} Rainbowfruit by Damask Love

If you love color, then THIS is the fabric collection for you!! Damask Love is known for her love of color and it's perfectly executed in her latest collection for Riley Blake Designs. Aptly named "Rainbowfruit", you can't help but simultaneously smile and suddenly need a sweet fruity treat.

Click the photo to view the collection storyboard. Photo Credit: Riley Blake Designs

I mean, look at the array of color here!! I knew right away that I'd sew for my youngest who loves color, has the personality to rock it and literally would eat popsicles or fruit all day long if I let her. It took a while to narrow down my choices. I ended up choosing a main print and 3 coordinates.

These fabrics sat patiently for me to decide what fun pattern to choose for them. Then the stars aligned and Little Lizard King is releasing a fun new dress tomorrow called Sarria and it's instant love!! Of course, I had to play with the stripes and made a pieced front -- it's my favorite way to sew stripes and is such an easy way to add a fun little feature.

How to piece your front bodice piece:

Add a seam allowance to the fold line of your front bodice piece. I like to add 1/4" because then I don't have to trim any bulk away.
Draw a 45-degree line from the bottom center corner of the bodice out to the outer edge. This will be the line to make sure you're lining it up correctly.
Place the pattern piece right side up, lining up the bottom of a stripe with the drawn line on your pattern piece. If your stripes are horizontal or vertical to the the selvage, your pattern piece will be placed on the bias. If your stripes are diagonal like in Rainbowfruit, one side of the bodice will be cut with the grainline and the opposite side will be cut cross-grain. Cut.
Take your cut bodice piece and place it face down on your fabric, matching the stripes all the way around. Cut.
Pin the bodice pieces together, making sure the stripes are aligned. You can hold it up to the light to help align them. Baste in place with the seam allowance you added. (Basting just makes it easier to rip the stitches if needed.)
Check to see that the stripes perfectly match. If yes, sew over the basting stitches with a normal stitch length. If no, fix the stripe alignment. Once you have it correct, press the seam open.
Make sure when you cut the lining, that you remove the added seam allowance from the pattern piece (or you'll have to piece it together like I did because I was rushing...HA!)

Of course, I couldn't resist doing it to the back too! However, since this is a buttoned back, I added a placket overlay (and then trimmed the original stripes underneath it) so they wouldn't be off center. I love how the Chill Out in Hot Pink pops against the stripes. Then I used small light blue buttons with white centers.

How to add a contrasting button placket:

Find out your bodice overlap. In Sarria, it's 3/4". I cut a strip 1 3/4" wide by the length of the back center. (it's okay to be a bit wider than you need, you can trim to fit).
I'm using a 1/4" seam allowance to sew it on so I took a fabric pen and drew a line on my bodice piece 1" from the center edge. (This pattern uses a 1/2" seam allowance to which I added the 3/4" overlap - which will be my placket finished width and finally I subtracted the 1/4" for the contrast piece. Math: 1/2 + 3/4 - 1/4 = 1")
Place the contrast piece against the line drawn so that the 1" of fabric along the back center is still visible, right sides together. Pin in place. Sew.
Flip the placket over to cover the center back and press. Trim any excess contrast. You should have 1.25" visible now or Bodice Overlap + pattern SA)
Trim the original bodice fabric underneath.

This fun cutout is my favorite part along with that micro-ruffle contrast -- it looks like icing!

I used the Triangles to make coordinating Nara Bows in the 3" size. It's my most sewn bow pattern and whip up in just minutes. I make two so I can do her hair in little space buns -- it always brings out her fun personality!