Kids' Clothes Week Project 2: Red Geranium with an invisible zip

Pattern: Geranium dress from Made by Rae
Fabric: Three Cats from my stash
Size: 3T (for a very slim 5-year-old)

Every year or two when my dad visits from Cape Town I get him to bring me a couple of metres of Three Cats shwe shwe, a sturdy printed cotton fabric used in South Africa to make women's clothing for traditional ceremonies as well as everyday dress. When I was a little girl I had skirts made of shwe shwe, and I love that I can now make clothes for my own daughter in similar fabrics.

For this geranium dress I used some of my special stash of Three Cats and decided to put a zip in the back instead of the buttons, as I wasn't completely happy with the way the overlap worked at the back of the last one I made. I'd used invisible zips a while back for a couple of Amy Butler skirts so - knowing that the instructions do work, despite the completely counter-intuitive method required - I pulled out the pattern and used the instructions for the dress. I like this closure a lot better than the buttons, as it's neater and doesn't catch on R's long (and tangly) hair. Plus I saved myself at least half an hour's work as I am quite possibly the world's slowest and most indecisive button-chooser.

I love the dress but I'm kicking myself as I was so distracted by modifying it to add the zip that I completely forgot to put in the white piping I had prepared for the bodice. While not quite as frustrating as last year's KCW linen dress debacle, this was still extremely irritating, especially as I only have myself to blame... On the positive side, though, the fit is perfect and all the dress cost me was the price of the zip. And a tiny piece of my sanity.

I showed R where the 'secret' pockets are, but she still struggles to find them!