April Dress for F

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As I mentioned in previous posts, F grew out of most of her summer clothes and I’ve been trying to build her a new summer wardrobe for this year. I always like the girls to have in their wardrobes a couple of classic dresses, having in mind their particular taste and that F still enjoys wearing this style quite a lot, I will make her dresses for as long as she wants me to.

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A couple of months ago Children’s Corner Patterns released a new pattern, that I really enjoyed but wasn’t sure the girls would be willing to wear. So, before buying it, I asked if F liked it and F said she did very much 😊. I waited until it was available in the UK, at the House of Smocking, to avoid expensive shipping and tax fees, as it is a paper pattern. Update: The April pattern is now available as a PDF. Such great news!

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The April pattern has a sweet vintage design, with side ruffles, an optional smocked insert and also optional sash, that F said she wanted. The bodice is fully lined and it closes at the back with buttons.

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F’s measurements are size 7 for chest and waist but her height is a size 10 so, I cut a straight size 7. This pattern has a large hem so I knew I could use it to adjust the height to make it work. She asked me not to make the dress on the short side because she wants it to last and for that reason, I made the hem only 1+1 centimetre. Hope it lasts all summer!

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I really liked the neat finishing in this pattern, the way the buttons placket is made and I also handstitched the bodice lining. It’s a lovely dress inside out.

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The main fabric is Liberty Tana Lawn in Betsy Mint from Alice Caroline and the lining is cotton voile from my stash.  I had made her a dress in the same fabric last year that is being used by M this year.

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For those who believe that little girls can’t play freely while wearing this kind of dresses, fear not, they can.  😉

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M6696 A Summer Dress

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Hope you’ve had a wonderful Easter break. As I am writing this post, we are enjoying our last few moments of holidays, before returning to school tomorrow. It was a lovely break with some days of wonderful weather that, made the summer dresses come out of the closet… except for F, who has barely nothing to wear as she outgrown almost everything in her closet! Need to fix that ASAP!

In any case today, I am not here to talk about my girls’ clothes. I am here to share with you another summer dress I have made.

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I bought this pattern last year but, didn’t managed to actually make it until a couple of months ago as part of one of my projects for Minerva Crafts (I’ll share more about that later) and I liked it so much that I made it again, this time using a different fabric.

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The pattern is the McCall’s M6696, made in version B. The sizes for these patterns are slightly different from most Indie designers I’ve worked with but, I used my measurements to choose the size and did not have any issues. So, I made a size 8 graded to 10 at the waist/hip without any further adjustments, except taking 4 centimetres to the skirt height. Also, I omitted the pockets only because I did not have enough fabric.

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I found this pattern very complete offering three different cup sizes options, also three sleeves and 2 skirt options, including as well a slip dress to wear under in case it’s needed. I opted for the short sleeve and pleated skirt option. In fact, the pleats are one of my favourite things in this pattern.

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The fabric was bought without a specific pattern in mind (that’s why I didn’t had enough for the pockets!) and it’s a recent product from Stragier, Liberty’s Double Gauze. Yes, it is as good as it sounds! It has only a few (but all gorgeous) prints available and I bought the Felicite one.

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The fabric worked very well for this project and was nice to work with. When I work with double gauze, I always prefer to use a walking foot. Do you use a regular foot?

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I am so pleased with this dress! I really like the details in the pattern, how comfortable it is and, of course, how pretty it looks.

Butterick 6446 A New Summer Dress

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Sewing for Summer is my absolute favourite. It might not be the wisest, as we only get about 2 months of it, but still it is what I like to make and wear the most. So, it seems only right that I started sewing summer dresses back in February, right?

This particular dress was made recently and I really hope the weather will warm up so that I can wear it, even if a cardigan is needed.

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I made the Butterick pattern B6446, view A. I believe this was my first time working with a Butterick pattern for myself, so I choose the size according to my measurements and made a size 8 graded to a size 10 at the waist and hips and just in case, made a toile using the lining. This might sound lazy, but not only saved me some time but also some fabric.

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I did not made changes to the pattern, however I made the sash that is supposed to be for views B and C. No idea why as I really like the bow!

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Although, I did not made changes to the pattern, I did to the construction and used an invisible zipper instead of a regular one, as it looks much better or should I say it doesn’t look… Sorry this might be a bad joke! But you know what I meant, a clean look is so much better and I thought an invisible zipper would give a neater finish. Also, I changed a bit the way the lining was attached so that the waistline seam would be enclosed and handstitched the lining. Much better in my opinion!

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Of course, these are just personal preferences and do not change the way it looks or the fit but I do like a clean finishing.

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The main fabric is a cotton print from Fibers to Fabric who kindly gifted it to me in exchange for my honest opinion, which is really honest. So much so that, I already bought more fabric from them. The fabric is a lightweight cotton (lighter than quilting cotton but heavier than lawn) with gorgeous colours as you can see (I did not edit the colours of the photos). It was a pleasure to work with and although it was actually cold when I took the photos, I can feel it is breathable and perfect for summer (can’t wait!). Like I mentioned, I already bought from them after and the shipping was fast (considering it comes from India) and they do have a lovely selection of fabrics. For the lining I used a cotton voile that I had in my stash.

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I really like the way the bodice drapes and must confess that I was not so sure if the skirt would suit me well, but actually I quite like it. Oh! It has pockets!

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I still have a couple more dresses to share with you but, for the moment I must start the girls Easter dresses as it’s only a week away. Better hurry!