So March ended up being totally bonkers. We had so much going on that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to make dresses for me and my girls as per my annual Easter tradition. I didn’t have time to make a dress for myself, but I did manage to make a dress each for the girls. Their dresses had to double and triple as uses for other events as well but somehow I managed to get them done in time for each event. The dresses turned out well and I think (and hope!) that they’ll end up getting a lot of use.
For both dresses I used Simplicity 9503 for no other reason than it was a pattern I had in my stash. It seemed easily adaptable and it was! I changed features on both dresses and had no issues doing so. For both, I used a size 5 bodice but lengthened that 1 1/2 inches for my older girl and 1/2 inch for my younger. And I also used the size 8 skirt, just because they both wanted extra length and a little more ruffle never hurt anyone (read: I was too lazy to trace different sizes!).
The pattern itself seemed good quality. Everything lined up and fit like it was supposed to. I can’t say much about the instructions, though, because I only glanced at the them once. I looked to see how exactly I was suppose to insert the binding and it offered the very helpful instruction to “apply binding” and that was it! So in the area I wanted a little extra support, I got none, but it worked out just fine anyway.
The first dress I made was this green one. We had a family member’s wedding to attend mid-month and we were given colors to wear. It wasn’t required but seemed like the courteous thing to do for the situation. We had kind of gone through a going, not going, going dilemma so when it was decided for sure that we were attending, we were a little short on time to get color coordinated attire for everyone. We shopped (our closets and the store) and found something for everyone but my oldest. I told her I would make her something but that it had to count for her Easter dress and since St. Patrick’s Day landed on a Sunday, it could count as a dress for that day too if she went with green. She obliged but had very exacting specifications for her dress.
She wanted something floor length (which she got. You’ll notice she’s not IN the dress in any of these pictures but that’s just what you get when dealing with a 17 year old. Whoops, I mean 7 year old 😜). The satin fabric I got (Hobby Lobby) had a shiny side and a matte side and she told me what side to use on each part of the dress.
She also wanted some sort of band across the waist. I was worried the dress would give strong Christmas and/or very formal vibes if I went with something like pearls or diamonds. I found this rhinestone bedazzled iron-on tape and I like that it brought the dress’s fanciness down a couple notches. Like I said, it’s an iron-on but I hand tacked it down which was incredibly difficult with the heavy duty sticky tape. It took forever but now it’s secure.
The sleeves are meant to be pleated and bound but I just let them be and hemmed them for this version. It was easier and felt like it would go well with the silhouette. When I was all but done with the dress, with only hemming the skirt to do, I showed Wendy the progress and she reminded me that she had requested a Peter Pan collar and to not forget that! I spent half a day worrying over how I was going to draft and attach a collar to an already finished neckline. I finally went to Wendy and told her I’d pay her to not have to do it. She settled on the price of $1, which is, without a doubt, the best dollar I’ve ever spend in my life. She likes the dress very much. Of course, after going to great lengths to not have the dress scream “Christmas,” at the wedding she paired the dress with red tights. I asked if she was going for a Christmas look to which she said, “No, it’s an upside down rose.” Which is, obviously, a very wedding-appropriate look 🙂
Things were still bananas after the wedding weekend, but I had Easter(ish) Dress #2 that needed finishing (and starting) so I had to cram sewing in every chance I got. Thankfully, Greta knew exactly what she wanted and it all involved stuff already in my stash!
When I asked her what she wanted for her dress, she went immediately to the closet that holds my fabric and pulled this colorful polka dot quilting cotton out. I had bought 2 yards of it years ago, back when I thought I could make a dress for myself out of 2 yards of quilting cotton (hahaha!). It’s an adorable fabric and I was happy to turn it into a dress for this sweet girl.
We picked out some pink fabric from my stash (I’m pretty sure it’s leftovers from my Saraste dress) that I turned into bias tape. I used it to bind the neck and the sleeves and then I also used it to visibly bind the hem. I was really happy with how the bindings all turned out. None of them have that weird rippling thing going on that’s so common in bias binding (or at least in my bias binding). I love the subtle pop of pink at the edges; it seems to ground the dress.
This is her asking, “Wait, does this have pockets?”
It does have pockets! Pockets make most everyone happy! A joyous discovery!
At any rate, I’m glad Easter dresses are off my plate for the rest of this year! I realize I’m the one who dished the plate in the first place! It is a tradition I typically enjoy, but perhaps I enjoy it more when I give myself plenty of time to plan and get ready for it. It doesn’t help that the day Easter falls on is always sneaking around and surprising us. Better luck on being prepared next year! I do think each dress turned out pretty well. I absolutely love the look of the polka dot dress. It’s bright and fun and happy! Since quilting cotton is relatively so easy to work with, it was easy to make the components look very professional (in my very unprofessional opinion!). I really like how the green dress turned out as well. It has more imperfections but I was happy with the balance I struck with a more playful kind of fancy. Time will tell if the dresses get worn a lot or not, but I think the girls were each happy with the dress they got.
Pattern: Simplicity 9503
Size: 5
Alterations: Lengthened bodice and skirt on each, omitted collar, made my own destiny with the bindings
Fabric: Green dress is a mix of satin and organza from Hobby Lobby; Polka dot one is an Art Gallery quilting cotton called Boardwalk Delight with a pink linen blend trim
Cost: $26 for fabric and trim for green dress; $2 for (2) 14″ zippers; stash for thread and polka dot dress fabric
Would I make this pattern again?: I would. It was simple, easy to hack, and turned out well
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