Supplement 305 - Model #239 - Summer 2017
Little Girl's Easy Dress
Hi folks, I hope the holiday season is treating you well. I managed to get in some last minute sewing for Christmas and thought I would share it with you. The night shirts that I made back in October went over very well as a birthday gift. She liked the fabric so much that she requested a daytime dress of the same print. How could I refuse?
Pattern Hints:
This pattern is intended for a woven fabric but I knew my knit fabric was stretchy enough to accommodate this dress with no zipper or other closure. Just to be certain I drew my pattern a little larger to account for growth between now and Spring. My recipient measured 61cm at the chest and I drew my pattern for a 66cm size.
Design Changes:
The most significant change that I made to this pattern was to use a knit fabric instead of a woven. This allowed me to eliminate the back zipper. Since I needed to bind the neck and sleeve edges with something I chose a nice stretchy satin edge elastic to stabilize the openings and give a little detail to the dress.
The next change was to add some fullness to the sleeves. I wanted a bit of a puff sleeve so rather than drawing a sleeve from another pattern I used the slash and spread method to add some fullness that I could gather into the sleeve head. This was easy enough to do with the existing pattern piece. Below is a before and after photo of my sleeve pattern alteration.
The original pattern is on the right with the lines drawn where I slashed the paper to (but not through) the sleeve pattern edge. On the left is my final pattern with paper filling in the areas where I spread the pattern. When I sewed in the sleeves I simply gathered the exaggerated sleeve head to fit the armseye and presto, a puff sleeve!
The only other change I made was to the skirt. The pattern suggests one rectangular piece for the skirt measuring approx. 45cm high by 63cm long. This just didn't look like enough gathering to me so I ended up cutting two rectangles measuring 18" high by 24" long, one for the front and one for the back. This is roughly the same length skirt as suggested but nearly twice as full. This required more gathering but also gave me a much fuller, swingy skirt.
Fabric Used/Suggested:
Although this pattern is intended for a woven fabric it also worked out just fine in a knit. If you decide to use a knit be sure your fabric is stretchy enough to fit over your child's head and shoulders or you may need to put the suggested zipper in the back.
Closing Hints:
As I was about to finish this post I got a photo of my little friend in her dress.
It looks a little large to me just as I intended. It should be perfect for Spring and maybe into the Summer. These dresses were easy enough that come Autumn I'll be happy to make some more for her. I'm told she loves her new dresses and the way the skirt twirls. I love the sweet little puff on the sleeves and the thin trim at the neck and sleeves. This pattern is a definite keeper!
Here's to a prosperous new year for all. May we all get some time to sew!
Ann in Calif.
