Madeline Dress
Miss B, the lover of all things with pockets, has a new dress which she adores.
Miss B is going through a defiant stage at the moment (big sigh) and getting reasonable photos of her wearing the said dress was quite a challenge. So, please excuse the grubby food face, swimming pool hair and her insistence on wearing a t-shirt and skirt (which you can’t see) underneath the dress.
This is the Madeline Dress by Wink Designs available as a pdf download in sizes 1 – 8.
I’ve been wearing my ‘pattern testing’ hat again and I had great fun making this dress. There were a couple of ‘firsts’ for me on this make. My first fully lined bodice (I’m astounded I haven’t done this before!). My first peter pan collar…
and my first back bodice button closure.
When constructing the peter pan collar…
- I wanted to ensure that the seam was on the under-side of the collar (rather than on the edge) so I allowed for the turn of cloth. What is the turn of cloth? Andrea from Four Square Walls explains it in step 3 of this post, or you can read an article on this topic by Threads Magazine. I’ve used ‘turn of cloth’ in my bag making before (think patch pockets and pocket flaps) and I’m a big fan!
- I utilised Megan Nielsen’s great tip about trimming the seam allowances of curved collars with pinking shears. I love this shortcut!
I’ll definitely be making more of these dresses. I think they are perfect for parties, plays in the park and lounging on the couch. What more could you want in little girls dress?
Please note, that since I made this version the ‘skirt’ part of the dress has been lengthened on all sizes by 2 inches.
Pattern: Madeline Dress by Wink Designs available as a pdf download in sizes 1 – 8
Size: 4
Fabric Main: Daisy Tango from Kelani Fabric Obsession. The blue colourway is still available.
Fabric Contrast: Spotlight (I think!)
Fabric Lining: Kaffe Fassett Shot Cotton from Kelani Fabric Obsession
Buttons: Purchased from The Button Shop
Alterations: I made the pockets out of the contrast fabric. The pattern suggests that only the pocket flaps be made out of the contrast fabric.
Cute as a button! I’m having trouble photographing Miss 8 looking like anything other than a punk rocker!
I hear you… Although, a punk rocker is probably a better look that a four year old pocking out her tongue or moving so fast everything is blury. Maybe I need to do regular out-takes photo posts for everyone’s viewing pleasure?
LOL yes that would be funny. I’ve got a hilarious one of Miss 8 in my next post.
She’s a cutie! And the dress… makes me miss making little girl clothes! Mine are all grown up! ~Laurie
I’m sewing quite a few little girls things at the moment and they are very rewarding as there is rarely a fitting issue!
It is gorgeous! I need to get some better photos of the one I made today while the sun is out. Thanks for the turn of cloth link, will do that from now on.
I can’t wait to see your version Kate. Miss B wants one of the little dolls that you posted yesterday. She said, “Mummy I need one of those dolls”. I totally understand why!
I initially thought the green tshirt was part of the outfit, they work well together. I remember making a similar dress for my girls, several years ago. A Butterick pattern I think.
The fabric is very pretty, Miss B looks gorgeous! Does she have her own sense of style?
She definitely has her own style and has a amazing eye for colour matching (like the green t-shirt). Her dresses and skirts must have pockets. She’ll only wear dresses, skirts, legging and t-shirt type tops. Layering is also key to her style – skirts, dresses and sometimes up to four t-shirts at once! Hilarious really.
Great dress, and well done on all those firsts. I love the peter pan collar. I haven’t photographed my kids yet for my blog so I guess I’ve got that joy to come.
Thanks Lousie, and good luck with the photography 🙂
It’s gorgeous 🙂 hehe, I was wondering about the bright green sleeves!!! So cute 🙂
Thanks Mel. The wee one definitely knows what she wants…
[…] project details today as there isn’t really a pattern, or size and the fabric has been used before, so instead I’ll leave you with this little shirring gem… hold your iron above the […]
[…] summary project details as there isn’t really a pattern or size and the fabric has been used before. So instead, I’ll leave you with this little shirring gem… hold your iron above the […]