Hearts and Stripes Sally Dress

Two months after the fact, I'm finally getting a chance to share the details of my summer Kid's Clothes Week creations that I made back in August. I guess it makes sense to wait to post about these projects because I can now accurately report on how popular (or not) each of the three garments have been with Ms Thang. 

Pattern:

Thanks to my existing stash of kid's sewing patterns and my seven issues of Ottobre Design magazine, I'm not short of options for things to make. However, I thought I'd start the challenge by splashing out, supporting an independent pattern designer and trying something new. 

The Sally dress pattern by Very Shannon came onto my radar via Pinterest (which is how most things do, let's be honest). At first glance it looks like a fairly standard bodice-and-gathered-skirt dress style, however it's got some interesting details that made me feel like it would be fun to try. Unlike my favourite kid's dress pattern, Made by Rae's Geranium dress, the Sally dress pattern has sleeves which makes this garment suitable for parts of the year that aren't roasting hot. The wider, square neckline looked really pretty and the massive pockets a great opportunity for using contrasting fabric. And potentially the best bit? No fastenings! Which makes this not only easier to sew, but easier to wrestle onto a wriggling toddler.   

The Sally dress is graded from sizes 2 to 8. I chose to make the size 3, expecting it to be a little big. However, probably thanks to Dolores's recently reignited interest in food, the fit is pretty spot on. The construction method suggested was different to other bodice-and-skirt dress patterns I've tried. In the interest of experimentation I followed the suggested method, deviating only to avoid hand stitching the lining round the armholes (I finished both outer and lining armhole seam allowances as one with my overlocker) and using the Geranium dress method of attaching the bodice and bodice lining to the skirt because I think it results in a cleaner finish than how the Sally dress instructions would have ended up. 

Fabric:

The best thing about this make, for me, was that it finally made use of some fabric that has been in my stash for almost ten years! I remember buying a couple of metres of this striped cotton in Bath on a weekend break with an ex boyfriend. It's got little hearts woven into the red stripes, and the red is pale enough for me to reclassify it as 'pink' for Dolores's sake. 

Thoughts:

Sometimes I forget how long children's woven garments, especially lined ones like this, can take to make. They usually involve just as many processes as an adult's garment, and sometimes their smallness makes them more fiddly and time-consuming. Thankfully, it only took a few days of offering this dress as one of two outfit options for the day before Dolores chose it to wear. Personally, I really love it. It's got a classic, slightly old fashioned vibe, but the massive pockets keep it interesting and more contemporary. I definitely see more of these being made in the future.

Cost:

Pattern: $9.95 (approx. £7.62) available here
Fabric: I have no idea as I bought it so long ago, but I'll estimate that it was £5 per metre because I've never been a big spender on fabric, and I used about 1m for this project
Lining: from my stash, and I didn't pay for it in the first place
Total: £12.62 (although that cost will be reduced when I use this pattern again)