Darling Ranges Cherry Blossom Dress

Now that Summer heat has arrived in Northern Virginia these photos seem a lifetime ago, but two months earlier we did family photos amidst the iconic Washington DC cherry blossoms, and today I’m finally sharing them—and the special dress I made for the occasion!

One of my goals this year was to work with a wider variety of fabrics and fibers, so for our cherry blossom session I decided to use an embroidered mesh for a romantic, fresh spring dress. I bought this pale grey mesh embroidered with pink flowers at Joann and it was the perfect match for the soft pink cherry blossoms blooming in the city.

I knew I wanted to use this fabric but finding a pattern to go with it proved more difficult. After scouring Instagram for days looking for inspiration, I stumbled upon this gorgeous black mesh polkadot dress by @katiemakesadress and knew that had to be my starting point.

I pulled out my copy of the Darling Ranges by Megan Nielsen for the base of my dress, and omitted the button front and added a keyhole back with a bow. I also added vertical darts to the bodice for a little more fit but still maintaining a pull over style. Finally, I added ruffles to the sleeves. And since the mesh is obviously see through, I used french seams for the entire construction for cleaner insides.

This dress is a little bit more frosting and not so much cake, but it was really fun to work with a different fabric and style. I also learned that embroidered mesh isn’t all that soft on the skin so by the time we were done with our session and our traditional post-family photos dinner at 2Amy’s, my arms were a-chafin’. Yup, stuff no one mentions in their cute insta photos of ethereal mesh dresses. So now you know!

I also made Mars’ pink dress too. I used the Feliz dress by Straightgrain and modified it with a full button front and a straight bodice. I used leftover viscose twill from last year’s Joy Jacket and I just love it so much! I might need to make a Hinterland dress to match hers…

A big thank you to Amy Hashimoto Photography—this is our second time doing a session with Amy and she is such a gem!

Any handmade family photo sessions on your horizon? Let me know in the comments what you’ll be making!