Dress for Darryl Fans (Walking Dead)

I am blessed with a family that keeps on growing, so given my time constraints, I have pretty much switched from quilts to clothing items for new-baby sewing projects. And my love affair with knits in general (and Knitorious in particular) continues.

This time the lucky recipient is a brand-new niece, on my husband's side. Her father and my husband are both consummate Zombie-lovers, so when he and his girlfriend announced that they were expecting, I knew I had to do something zombie-themed. My original Robert Kaufman Walking Dead print was running out, though, so I was very, very happy to luck into this:

Honestly, I may have retail-stalked a little bit at Knitorious to score it. 

Originally, I though I was going to make another hoodie (a la Chompers Hoodie) for a boy - the expectant mother "had a feeling." but I'm glad I didn't cut in, because the ultrasound revealed that the upcoming child was very much a girl. And here's where my tendency to overbuy served me well: 

Why make a boring, gender-neutral hoodie out of zombie fabric, when you can make a delightfully tongue-in-cheek, whimsical, and maybe just a little bit frilly Zombie dress for a girl? I mean seriously: try finding that in the store! It took a fair amount of searching for the exact right pattern (and my husband nixed some of the frillier things) but once we saw the Baby Islas Infinity Dress, from Simple Life Pattern Co, we were both in love. I think it was the heart cutout in the back that pushed us over the edge. Fortunately, the reviews checked out, and I bought the pattern off Etsy.

To make this particular dress I chose the "straight" waist, heart cutout on back, a full-on circle skirt, and 3/4 sleeves. I made it in size 6-12, but since part of my learning curve on this item was learning what a "stretch stitch" is - which I only learned after sewing half the neckline without one - it's probably more of a "newborn" or "3-6 month" garment in terms of head size. Ooops. 

Fortunately for me, other than that the dress came together incredibly well. It was a quick sew, the instructions were easy to follow, and thanks to the high-quality fabric the end result looks good, feels good, and moves nicely. I cannot wait to see it on my niece!