Little Girl Dresses

 

One of the great things about having granddaughters is that you have someone to sew for.  I bought scads of pink and blue fabric with blocks and numbers when the oldest was born.  I had a pattern but somehow managed to buy way too much of the fabric.  I made an infant sundress and a couple of shirred dresses and some doll clothes but STILL had quite a bit left over, and since it wasn't cheap I was thinking that as these girls grow this is my last chance to use it before they have completely outgrown the theme of the print.  Well I think it is finally safe to say I have used up every scrap of that fabric.

I used Lutterloh pattern 239 from supplement 305.  I had just enough fabric to make three little dresses if I left off the sleeves.  I was ok with that as I saw this as a little summer dress.  Because the girls don't live near me I had to go on faith and a few measurements.  The dresses turned out a tiny bit on the big side but as we are only in May and they will grow over the summer I think that's a good thing.  These dresses should fit them until the end of the summer.

The armholes are a bit big for a sleeveless dress.  I've made a note that if I do this again I will raise the bottom of the armhole about 1 1/2".  I suggested to my daughter that she have them wear a little short sleeved tee underneath for modesty.  Other than that I am really pleased with how they turned out.  I surged all the seam allowances before assembly.  I did a double fold 1" hem (1/2" on the littlest) and bound the armholes and neck edges with self bias binding that was hand stitched down.  I used 22" invisible zippers cut to length because that is what I had on hand, but that turned out really well.

Something I did different this time with a Lutterloh pattern is I traced the pattern piece (without seam allowances) onto the fabric with washable marker and then added seam allowance as I cut.  By doing it this way I had an accurate sewing line to follow even if my seam allowances weren't perfect.  I think this made for a more accurate project and I will try to remember to do this again.