Wednesday, April 23, 2014

NewLook 6200 - Sea green + pink horse dress

Sewing clothes for little girls is addicting. It's total instant gratification: 30 minutes of tracing + 30 minutes of cutting out on stable cotton fabric + a couple hours sitting at the sewing machine = a new dress with no fitting issues.


I used another cotton from Fabric.com, from the wildly popular Michael Miller "Wee Wander" series. I picked a simple dress pattern to not cut up the horses too much, and spent some time laying out my pieces carefully. The jumbo rick-rack and pink bow were purchased locally and matched as best as possible.


I cut a size 1/2 for the width and a size 4 for the length and left off the pocket. She's not typically a 4 in length but this dress was drafted somewhat short. It's pretty blousy through the torso which is fine for a little girl's dress.


I did make a number of changes to the pattern instructions. The front neck band was interfaced and the angle of the straps straightened before attachment. I used fabric bias strips to finish the armholes instead of the bias tape that was called for. The back strap attachment was changed to look neater and I put in an invisible hem instead of a topstitched one. If there's no other topstitching present in a garment, it looks odd to me to have it at the hemline.


The neckline of this dress was so fiddly to sew - tiny front band that the whole front of the dress gets gathered and stitched to, then attach the gathered front straps, then sew the inside band to it and mind the corners for a nice sharp finish. While I was in the middle of wrestling with it, I vowed that this was the last time I'd use this pattern. However, it turned out so adorable in the end that I'm sure I'll make it again.


I hand-stitched the bow from the backside so that it wouldn't come untied and fray-checked the ends. This is only the 2nd or 3rd time I've used rick-rack and I think it's so fun and girly. You can see the bias bands I used at the armholes in the next picture and the side french seams. Also you can just barely see that the tops of the straps are gathered too. I forgot to get a close-up of that on Rachel.


I really enjoy using NewLook and Simplicity's toddler patterns and have a number of them. I wish McCall's and Butterick had more contemporary designs and started their sizes at 1/2. Skinny girls need cute patterns too.


43 comments:

  1. Too cute! I'm going to have to go looking for that fabric (more so for me than my daughter).

    I have found that McCalls patterns started fitting my daughter better once she hit school age, but until she was 6, the only stuff I could sew for her was Simplicity/New Look not only for the better pattern selection, but the closer fit (she's been a 10-15th percentile weight her entire life).

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    1. Thanks Seamslikework! I have bought several McCall's and Butterick patterns for Rachel to save for later before they get discontinued. Some of their girl patterns are cute and modern but all the toddler stuff looks basic and babyish to me. They must be targeting women sewing for themselves and not women sewing for their small children.

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  2. Oh, cute. Posts like this really make me wish I had a little girl to sew for in my life!

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  3. She looks so pretty. The dress is great and also the fabric. That is some for our girls too.
    Love, Wilma

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  4. Such a cute dress! The fabric is perfect, especially if your little girl is as horse crazy as I was at her age. ;-)

    I'm not even sure what they're doing with Kwik Sew, but I know that for my tall scrawny boy, those and Jalie work really well. I hate how the Kwik Sew's always look so frumpy on the envelope, but they are solid basics. :-) And since you have a girl, you'll have more options than I do, LOL! ;-)

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    1. Thanks Splintersnstitches! Kwik Sew reminds me of McCall's and Butterick in that they all look the same - gathered skirt and some sort of fitted bodice or the pillow case dress look - with some cuter designs for their bigger girl sizes. Jalie doesn't seem to go down to toddler sizes, so that will be a good option in a few years. I agree that boys patterns are pretty sparse. I never even tried to sew for my older two boys. All they want to wear these days are t-shirts and cargo shorts anyway. Or frumpy looking "sports" clothes which I abhor. That's a whole other topic for some other blog though. :)

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  5. So cute! Lucky kids with patterns fitting so perfectly from the start
    Your little girl has just the cutest curly hair!

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    1. I know! I wish it were so easy to make something for myself! Thanks Carrie!

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  6. such a cute dress, I think the New Look children's patterns are adorable. great fabric and oh those curls, beautiful!

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    1. Thank you Beth! I use to cringe at paying $3.99 for them when the other major pattern companies go on sale for $0.99. But they have really great children's designers there and the smaller sizes so it's worth it to me now. I wish I had her curls! All I have to do is spritz her with water and brush it a bit and she's got instant perfect hair!

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  7. Hi Amanda! I'll pass your comment about sizing along to the team. Cute daughter!

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  8. What a beautiful young girl!!!! You did an amazing job on the dress!!

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  9. Very cute! And that fabric is just lovely. I'm pretty sure my middle girl would simply pop from delight if I got my hands on that fabric...she has a pony and unicorn obsession!

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    1. You need to get her some! It's available in two or three colorways. Check Fabric.com. And thanks for your comment!

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  10. Just an adorable little girl, and the dress is pretty cute too! I wish my granddaughters weren't too old for this look so I could sew more for them.

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  11. The dress, and your model, are just too cute!

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  12. Both of my daughters were very slim (they still are) as children so I remember sewing a child's size 2 until they were around 9 by just lengthening the pattern. I made lots girlie dresses for them (Guinee Sax style) and saved several of them for posterity and for my granddaughter to play 'dressup'. You should save a few special dresses you make for your precious daughter too.

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    1. That's why I trace all patterns for her, 'cause I will be using the same ones for years to come! I will definitely be saving the handmade stuff and give it to her when she's grown. (Unless I amass a ton of it, then we will see.)

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  13. Rachel is becoming quite the little model :) Very cute outfit.

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    1. Thanks Vicki! She didn't much want to smile at me this time, though. Also she feels the need to hold her arms up over her head like she's in the middle of a dance. At least she's not rolling her eyes at me yet. ;)

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  14. This is really cute! Love the print, and the style is so sweet on your daughter.

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  15. So very cute! And your little model is just adorable!!!

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  16. I just bet she loves her horsey dress.

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  17. Aww, this is upper cute, and she is adorable! I used to love sewing for my children too. I still do but they're adults so it's not so quick or cute any more!

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    1. Thanks Carolyn! I always love to see the stuff you make your adult children and wish I loved to sew mens' shirts more then I do.

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  18. JUst adorable as is your little one!!

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  19. Awwwww! Your daughter is such a cutie and her dress is adorably gorgeous on her.

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  20. I love this dress it is so playful

    https://sewmodiste.wordpress.com

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  21. I love this pattern, and have used it several times already. Your creation is very pretty :)

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  22. HI I am currently sewing this dress for two year old twins. I've gotten to the part you described as tricky, adding the facing to the front band. I wonder if you can give me any advice about how to proceed. I am an amateur seamstress and I'm having such a hard time. Thanks for any advice you can share. (also- you're dress is adorable!)

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    1. Sorry, I just checked my comments and saw your question. Ummm... I really don't know what to tell you. I hope you figured it out!

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