{Riley Blake Designs} Nicholas by J Wecker Frisch

*clears throat* Ahem, I interrupt your summer (or winter for my southern hemisphere friends) with an important announcement:

It's officially 6 months until Christmas!!

My kids countdown pretty much year-round so once we get over the "halfway mark" hump, the anticipation really starts building. Every year, my girls get a special dress (or two or three if you're the youngest). I'm ahead of the game this year as long as she doesn't grow too much! Fingers crossed...

Nicholas by J Wecker Frisch for Riley Blake Designs is a new Christmas collection that is sure to get you in the giving spirit. It is full of holiday cheer with its tiny trees, snowflakes, holly berries and holiday postcards. I was instantly drawn to the tiny trees on black. I grabbed the red postal stripes and green snow dot texture for coordinates.

It took me ages to decide on a pattern. At age 11, I know I'm on borrowed time for using themed fabric. With my daughter's input, we chose Liberty by Little Lizard King, but took the liberty (HA!) to change it up a bit. Liberty is a dress pattern with attached bib and if you use the same contrasting fabric for the bib and sleeves, it gives the illusion of a shirt and pinafore. I omitted the bib and sleeves to make a true pinafore and then paired it with a knit shirt underneath.

For the shirt underneath, I used the Galena Dress by Little Lizard King and my starting point and simply lengthened the bodice to shirt length and omitted the skirt. I love the bound neckline, the slim fit, and the included bishop sleeves.

I loved the contrasting band at the bottom of the skirt and let me daughter choose whether I used the Green Snow Dot Texture or the Red Postal Stripes. I love letting her choose the details. I used the Red Postal Stripe for piping detail outlining the bodice.

I used nearly every inch of the fabrics to make this. I had just enough to still make sure my print lined up across the back buttons.

The true magic of this pattern comes in the FULL skirt. There's no need for a pettiskirt underneath, but undershorts are a must. (I made these too! I used the Solvang pattern by Little Lizard King.) The bottom ruffle is nearly 17 feet wide!

How early do you start preparing for Christmas? This is the second or third year that I've been months ahead of schedule. I'm usually procrastinating up until the very last second so I'm still trying to get used to being early.