I kinda lost my mind making little girl dresses again this year. I started with three separate patterns ~ Vogue 8060 which is out-of-print, Butterick 6314, Butterick 5876 and ended up with five dresses for Lena and two for Sammy this time.
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The Test Dress ~
At first I was going to do one post with all of the dresses, but it was too much information & too many photos so I'm breaking it down by pattern. This isn't the first dress I made but since I made four of them this will be the first post.
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This post is about Vogue 8060. I used this pattern to make Sammy's dresses last year. The amazing thing is that a year later the pattern still fits Miss Sammy. I had to lengthen the pattern pieces and take them in an inch but other than that they still worked. Even more amazing though, is that the same pattern pieces fit Miss Lena. For her I just needed to lengthen them.
The girls with my daughter/their mother are participating in my Mom's church's fashion show. It's an annual event that occurs the Saturday before Palm Sunday and various members of the family have modeled in it over the years. My mother has asked me time and again to sew for the models but I've always resisted...that is until she asked the babies to model with their mother.
Here is the test dress, made up to try on both girls to gauge length and if width was needed:
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It's not finished because I'm thinking of cutting it to tunic length so that Miss Lena can wear it with leggings. She will not be wearing this in the fashion show.
Sammy's Black 'n White Version ~
Since the trial dress worked, I moved onto making one for Sammy using the black 'n white polka dot fabric that was previously used to make this dress for me.
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This dress coordinates with one I made for Miss Lena and a maxi skirt for their mother. It's the first mother/daughter pieces for the fashion show. I made so many of this dress last year that sewing the new ones was a breeze. The most complicated portion of this version was adding the embellishment.
The trim was purchased last year at Expo and sadly this is the last of it. However, this time after stitching it down, I stitched single pearls to the center of each flower. It's a striking embellishment that coordinates with the flowers on Lena's dress.
The Cotton Lace Matching Dresses ~
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The next coordinating outfits were made using fabric purchased in Houston. I know it's expensive fabric to use in little girl dresses but doesn't it make awesome dresses. I made a couple changes to the pattern for these dresses:
1. They have a v-neckline instead of the regular neckline.
2. Sammy's version has green piping. Lena's doesn't because that piping
was a pain to add...and I'm using a PG word to describe the experience.
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3. I added floral pins to the front of each garment.
4. The hem of the dress is the selvege edge of the fabric.
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5. The dress is lined in a bright raspberry silk duppioni.
6. An invisible zipper was added to the back of the dresses as a closure.
A Few More Pictures ~
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Conclusion ~
These are constructed exactly like the original ones made last year. The simple shape of the dress works really well for highlighting embellishments and interesting fabrics.
I'm holding onto this pattern because there are more dresses to be made for the little princesses in the future. Also, all of the items for these dresses and the ones in upcoming posts, came from materials already in the Sewing Cave. The only purchase was five yards of 2" wide white grosgrain ribbon which is a staple in the Cave and needed to be replaced. Thank goodness for a well stocked sewing cave!
I spent two weeks making all of these dresses and will share them with you during this week. All of the photos of Miss Lena and Miss Sammy were taken at home. I'm not sure how many good ones we will get during the fashion show. However, if we do get some great shots, I will post them to the blog because my daughter has great accessories for both girls to go with the dresses.
...as always more later!
The Test Dress ~
At first I was going to do one post with all of the dresses, but it was too much information & too many photos so I'm breaking it down by pattern. This isn't the first dress I made but since I made four of them this will be the first post.
This post is about Vogue 8060. I used this pattern to make Sammy's dresses last year. The amazing thing is that a year later the pattern still fits Miss Sammy. I had to lengthen the pattern pieces and take them in an inch but other than that they still worked. Even more amazing though, is that the same pattern pieces fit Miss Lena. For her I just needed to lengthen them.
The girls with my daughter/their mother are participating in my Mom's church's fashion show. It's an annual event that occurs the Saturday before Palm Sunday and various members of the family have modeled in it over the years. My mother has asked me time and again to sew for the models but I've always resisted...that is until she asked the babies to model with their mother.
Here is the test dress, made up to try on both girls to gauge length and if width was needed:
It's not finished because I'm thinking of cutting it to tunic length so that Miss Lena can wear it with leggings. She will not be wearing this in the fashion show.
Sammy's Black 'n White Version ~
Since the trial dress worked, I moved onto making one for Sammy using the black 'n white polka dot fabric that was previously used to make this dress for me.
This dress coordinates with one I made for Miss Lena and a maxi skirt for their mother. It's the first mother/daughter pieces for the fashion show. I made so many of this dress last year that sewing the new ones was a breeze. The most complicated portion of this version was adding the embellishment.
The trim was purchased last year at Expo and sadly this is the last of it. However, this time after stitching it down, I stitched single pearls to the center of each flower. It's a striking embellishment that coordinates with the flowers on Lena's dress.
The Cotton Lace Matching Dresses ~
The next coordinating outfits were made using fabric purchased in Houston. I know it's expensive fabric to use in little girl dresses but doesn't it make awesome dresses. I made a couple changes to the pattern for these dresses:
1. They have a v-neckline instead of the regular neckline.
2. Sammy's version has green piping. Lena's doesn't because that piping
was a pain to add...and I'm using a PG word to describe the experience.
3. I added floral pins to the front of each garment.
4. The hem of the dress is the selvege edge of the fabric.
5. The dress is lined in a bright raspberry silk duppioni.
6. An invisible zipper was added to the back of the dresses as a closure.
A Few More Pictures ~
Conclusion ~
These are constructed exactly like the original ones made last year. The simple shape of the dress works really well for highlighting embellishments and interesting fabrics.
I'm holding onto this pattern because there are more dresses to be made for the little princesses in the future. Also, all of the items for these dresses and the ones in upcoming posts, came from materials already in the Sewing Cave. The only purchase was five yards of 2" wide white grosgrain ribbon which is a staple in the Cave and needed to be replaced. Thank goodness for a well stocked sewing cave!
I spent two weeks making all of these dresses and will share them with you during this week. All of the photos of Miss Lena and Miss Sammy were taken at home. I'm not sure how many good ones we will get during the fashion show. However, if we do get some great shots, I will post them to the blog because my daughter has great accessories for both girls to go with the dresses.
...as always more later!