the north carolina state fair 2023

Sooo around the turn of the New Year when 2022 became 2023, I wanted more out of sewing. I guess you could say I felt a bit complacent. I was happy, but growth is good. I don’t view complacency as a bad thing since it fuels growth.

Cue the google searches! And one of the things that I found was the state fair. We live in North Carolina, so I should say, the North Carolina State Fair.

I’d never been to a state fair before and the amount of entry categories was intense! So I signed up for an infant garment sewn by an adult. Straight forward enough, right? …sounds like something up my alley, right?

What did I make?


Well, I wanted to do a really pretty, timeless take on a baby gown. I guess you could call that traditional without any influence from the 80s 😜 And all the supplies for this gown came from farmhouse fabrics.


I wanted an array of whites, creams, pinks, and maybe a little pop of green from a leaf. I know, things were about to get wild and crazy up in my sewing space.

So like any great project, it started with some shadow work embroidery.

And before I knew it, there was a party going on in my sewing space (newly moved to my office… sooo thankful!! 🙌). And, yes, the party contained a pop of green from twoooo leaf clusters. Wild and crazy!

From there, the lace work commenced. I did lace shaping on the yoke… one swoop in the main area of the yoke, two little swoops that branched off, and then one little guy below the neckline.

I basted those bits of lace in place, stood back, and thought… hmm can I add something else without going overboard? And then I grabbed a scrap piece of pink nelona cotton batiste so I could add that to the back of that main swoop…

And I trimmed up the edges of the pink to match the curve of the lace before I took this piece to my sewing machine and applied the hemstitching (those pretty little dots paired with a zigzag motion that solidifies the lace to the fabric).

After all that magic occurs, you have these lovely little dots that smile back at you 😘

In case you’re curious, this is the back of that piece, and that shiny looking thing is the water-soluble stabilizer. It helps in the process

I applied a few pieces of lace on the yoke’s back and then I could switch gears to the skirt. By the way, at this point, things were really flowing and I was having a fabulous (kid-free) time sewing! It’s amazing how much nicer of an experience doing these fine projects is without a baby strapped to your body, ha! …I mean, I’m saying that with all the love for my kiddos 🤪

For the skirt, I took this intertwined design and ran with it!

so.much.fun

The skirt also has shadow work embroidery on it …did I mention I was having a party in my sewing room? “You get some shadow embroidery, you get some shadow embroidery! Everyone gets some shadow embroidery!” Too much? 🤷‍♀️ You should see my Friday evenings! 🥳😴😅

To tidy up those lace bits, I did a very small zigzag (attempting) to follow the curves around those leaves.

Finally, I added some more of that pink nelona cotton batiste so the same shadow effect could be applied

And there was the front of the skirt 😍

It’s amazing having some space (that isn’t on the floor) and baby-free time to sew. I’m really, really grateful for this next chapter that we’ve gotten to in life. Sure, I loved the baby years, but I’m also really thankful that babies grow up quickly (ish). Honestly, it didn’t feel that quick from my perspective, but whatev, maybe that’s just me? 🤷‍♀️

So my finished dress…

oooh yeah.. minor detail, but, this dress won best in show 😳 I know! you can watch the full story of how this garment was created in this video.

I put together a video tutorial (in retrospect…) in case y’all wanted to make your own. I hope it’s helpful! Here is a tissue-printed copy of the pattern as well as a pdf download.

all this to say…
branch out, try new things, and enjoy the journey! ❤️