Scientific Seamstressing

A friend of ours, who has a daughter A's age, has had a really rough year. The company she loved working for went under, and she had an application to PA school rejected not because she wasn't qualified, but for administrative reasons that can't be fixed until next year. Ugh.

I can't fix what truly ails her: a "gap year" for a person whose type A personality abhors uncertainty and loose ends. But I *can* send her a vote of confidence for her (eventual) chosen new profession. Last year her daughter *lived* in a science-themed dress from Princess Awesome, and it doesn't take a rocket-scientist seamstress to reverse-engineer *that* sewing pattern. Especially not if that seamstress has already made two OTHER Islas from Simple Life Pattern Co.

I'd looked for a nice, science-y print for a while last year, scouring all the custom knit sites. But when I went to the Quilter's Festival in Houston with my Mom (you can see her recap of our trip here), this print called "Geek Chik" by Studio E caught my eye. I wasn't *Opposed* to wovens (they're what Princess Awesome uses after all), I think it just hadn't been on my radar at all. So, I picked it up.  

I paired it with a nice, solid royal blue from Sweet N Charmed, and I was just going to leave the front plain until I saw the corresponding panel. I couldn't resist! It is woven, so I'm hoping it won't limit the stretch of the garment as it goes over the head *too* much, but I love the way it looks. Apparently the molecule on the front is Caffeine - not a substance that I think mixes with 5-year-olds overly well - but hey, the organic structure and the magnifying glass are still cool.

Also, there was one other detail I couldn't resist. The Isla has directions for a heart cutout on back, and a files section with pattern pieces for other cutouts. None of those cutouts was a scientific tool, but it did give me the idea. So, bonus beaker on back!

I think my friend is waiting until it warms up a little bit before she lets her daughter wear it, thanks to the cutout on the back (in January! Oops...) but I know she was happy to receive it!