Hawaiian Dress

We went to Maui this summer and stayed at the Westin Kaanapali Villas for a great price offered by Starwood.  I think they wanted us to buy a timeshare, but unlike the usual timeshare trips, we didn’t have to sit through a timeshare presentation, though we opted to sit through one for a free 1 hour private photo session.  It’s rare for us to get formal family portraits so it was worth it.  The villas were amazing, right on the beach, clean, and convenient with a kitchen and washer/dryer in each suite.  It was great to be able to cook and sit outside on our little porch for meals and there were some great pools that the kids enjoyed.  They also had some fun classes to take and little e did lei and soap making, and basket weaving.  It was a fun and relaxing family vacation.

 

I’m not a knick-knacks person so I tended not to buy any souvenirs when I traveled (besides clothes). However, over the years, I’ve learned to pick up some fun souvenirs that I didn’t mind keeping around the house.   One is buying a print, photograph, or painting wherever we go if we can find one that we like and fits the aesthetic of our house.  It’s fun to have people comment on our wall decor and for us to reminisce about the places where they were purchased.  Another is buying books.  Little e and c have children’s books from all over that E and I have picked up on our business trips.  Usually we find either local classics, or books about the location.  The challenge is sometimes finding something in English, but usually we can find at least a few to choose from.  Most recently, with my new sewing hobby, I’ve been buying fabric everywhere, Hong Kong, Tokyo, London, Taiwan, etc.  So, when little e wanted a souvenir, we hit up Sew Special, a local fabric store, to pick up some Hawaiian prints.

I picked up this Rayon print and wanted to make a casual and comfortable flow-y dress, something like a sarong.  So, this is what I came up with.

I have actually never sewed a dress from a pattern before.  My sewing instructor taught me how to make a block for little e, and everything else that I make is just a modification to that block, whether it’s to change the neckline, add different sleeves, skirts, etc.  I haven’t ventured into shorts, yet, but that will be coming soon.

It didn’t turn out quite as I envisioned, mainly because I completely ran out of fabric.  I’ve been buying 1 yard of fabric for the longest time, and now realizing that it’s not enough for little e to make a fuller dress.  I wanted 4 more panels on the bottom to make a fuller skirt and obviously I can’t go back to Maui to get more.

However, I think it actually looks okay on her.  Though, maybe I should have made a romper. That would have been cute.  I will have to try that next time.

Little e said I should call her “Valerie” on my blog post.  Hmmm, ok.

There you have it, a souvenir from Maui for Valerie, and fun for mom to make.