One dress: three ways

I recently posted about my Little Folks Sweetheart Dress, which I made using New Look 6723. This pattern is commonly referred to as the Audrey Hepburn dress, because when made with the bateau option in black, it is similar to the LBD Holly Golightly wore in Breakfast at Tiffany's.

I've made this pattern twice before, and each time I've made alterations to impact the final design. While all three have similar components — princess seams, knee-length skirt, etc., — each dress also has significant design differences.

The Little Folks dress followed the pattern explicitly... only substituting a blind hem and invisible zipper for a hand-stitched hem and standard zipper. I chose view D, the sleeveless dress with a sweetheart neckline.

The following two dresses were each made with the same pattern, but with significant modifications. The first time I made the dress, I attempted to emulate an Armani design I had recently seen. The dress featured a reverse pleat skirt and a wide midriff band, resembling a cummerbund.

And my interpretation:

The reverse pleat was an easy enough alteration and I made a wide sash to mimic the midriff. The fabric is a men's shirting material that I found in the red tag clearance section for $2-$3/yard. In total, including the zipper and thread, the dress cost less than $10... certainly not Armani, but about 1% of the cost.

The second time I used the pattern, I wanted something more dramatic. Our 12-year anniversary was fast approaching, and I wanted a sexy, romantic frock to wear out to dinner with my husband. Months before, I had ordered navy silk twill fabric, which I got at a deep discount - about $5/yard. I traced the bodice pattern and set about making changes... first, the neckline became a v-neck. Simple enough. Next, I cut the back into a deeeep V.

Probably too deep -- without some hook and eyes above the zipper and the sash belt, this dress would probably never stay on... the shoulders slip as it is. I realize now that I probably should have started with a different pattern for the bodice, as the shoulders are set too wide on this particular design. Live and learn. I still love the dress! I wore it to dinner and dancing and felt beautiful in it. Of course, my company that evening might have had something to do with my mood.

Once again, I garnered inspiration from NeimanMarcus.com for the skirt portion of this dress. (Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this...) This time, the classic Prada belted dress.

Instead of a gathered skirt, I made two inverted pleats on each side of the front skirt and added a belt-like sash. The back detail is inspired by Cynthia Rowley's Simplicity 2593.

Just a few fun ideas to incorporate some high fashion into my wardrobe... and still have enough money left over to pay my mortgage.

Re-purposed linen dress from Ottobre 3/10

So, I made another dress out of the newest Ottobre 3/10 (click here to see the Harebell dress)...

Summer 2010 Ottobre cover

I know, I know, I promised I would make something for the boy next... and I did, but it wasn't as cute as I had hoped. I made the little boy's dress shirt, "Apple" out of a thrifted grey Calvin Klein men's shirt and it ended up looking really blah. Dharma Initiative workman shirt blah. Sometimes grown-up fabric doesn't translate to little kid wear, and this is a good example of that. I did really like the pattern, though, so I plan to make it again out of kid-friendly fabric.

blah - didn't even add buttons. sigh.

That being said, I'm very pleased with how the linen dress I made turned out.

"Plum Tree" linen dress

And even more pleased that it was made from re-purposed linen! Behold... what I once used to carry my little ones

made-by-me linen ring sling ca. 2007

is now an adorable dress!

It's the "Plum Tree" pattern, made in a size 98 cm. Instead of embellishing the yoke with ribbon and lace, I decided to use a voile from Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks collection. Yes, I've been using a lot of Little Folks.... yes, I might be a tad obsessed. Self-admitted.

Little Folks yoke

The dress is really more of a tunic and in the magazine, it is shown paired with cotton leggings... they're already cut and probably pretty necessary, as this dress is pretty short.

It has cute pleated pockets on the front accented with a small heart button

and fastens with an invisible zipper in the back. Just a few pattern pieces and came together very easily. Once again, I flubbed on tracing and adding seam allowances... really, really wish Ottobre and other European pattern designers would just add them in! This time, it was on the back panel... the SA is already included for the zipper, but I added them to the pattern piece. I didn't realize my mistake until the zipper was already installed and I began to attach the neckline facing. I didn't have any desire to unpick a zipper, so the issue was easily remedied with two tiny pintucks at the back neck. The zipper is also placed a tad too high. Oops.

Regardless of the small issues, I adore the finished product. The voile, Forest Hills in berry, was interfaced for the yoke and facing. It is just so lovely with the tiny cottages and galloping deer (antelope? reindeer?) and fits the natural-hued linen perfectly. Very happy with this upcycled piece that can be worn for just about any occasion - even flying a kite!

or getting a hug from your sister (her top is blogged here):

Little Folks Summer Tunic

I know I keep raving about Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks Voile ... and with good reason! It's so soft and lovely and the colors are stunning. My 8-year-old daughter (newly 8 - still can't believe it!) requested a summer top and picked out the two coordinating LF prints for it.

She has a tendency to ask me to make things for her, (even going so far as to pick out the pattern and fabrics) and then never wearing it... so, naturally, I was hesitant. I mean, this is Little Folks Voile! Sacred. But, I succumbed and crafted the top last night after bedtime. When she woke up this morning, it was finished and she was ecstatic! Over the moon happy! She really, really loves it. Phew! She's planning a second one already.

See how happy?

The pattern is McCalls M6065, view A. I picked up a bunch of the new McCall's patterns at a recent $1.99 sale and I've been very happy with them. I recently made M5615 for little sister and I love the end result. Again, no zippers, snaps or buttons on this design and it went together very easily. Also again, I had to slipstitch the yoke facing (pink cotton lawn)... not too tough, but I'm not sure it was completely necessary. It does look very nice, though... and since the voile is so light, I think the hand-stitching adds a delicate finish.

budding model - look at that pose!

The yoke is Four Square in Berry. It's slightly longer in the back with a graceful curve in the front.

The skirt, Village Path in Berry (love this!), is gathered in the center front and back. The voile is perfect for the flowing nature of this top and my daughter loves how it feels. She is very sensitive about tight things on her torso, so this design is perfect for her - no elastic or tight spots to feel constricting.

New Shoes = New Dress

It all started with a pair of flip-flops.

Not that I need an excuse to make a new dress! I found these corker ribbon-embellished sandals at a recent consignment sale and had to buy them for my daughter. I was finding lots of tees and shorts for her twin brother, but restraining myself from even looking at little girls' clothes. With two older sisters and a dress-happy sewing mama, her closets are overflowing. That left nothing to splurge on but shoes! Well, not exactly splurge, I spent $4 on these and they were in like new condition. Score! Her response: "Oh, mommy, these shoes are so pretty!" Yay!

The only problem... not much purple, blue, green and aqua in her closet... Solution? Why, make a new dress, of course!

I had the skirt fabric, Amy Butler Bliss Bouquet in Emerald, already in my stash and the bodice fabrics, also from her "Love" collection, left over from another project. The pattern is McCall's M5615, and I love it! The people at McCall's must have been paying attention to what's going on in independent pattern design, because several of their new children's patterns are really terrific. I love designs that are easy to get on and off because my independent 3-year-old wants to dress herself. I picked up several of the new patterns at a recent $1.99 sale and I'm excited to try them all. No zippers, buttons, snaps, etc., on any of of these dresses and the designs are very trendy and fun.

This particular pattern has gathering on the bodice at the neckline and waist, and then the front bodice is attached to a "stay." The midriff piece is also gathered to resemble a cummerbund and also attached to a stay.

The entire bodice is faced, so the dress is finished on the inside. I had to slipstitch the facing, but it didn't take too long and really makes the dress look nice. The skirt is elasticized in two places in the back and has two gathered, elasticized pockets on the front.

I made the size 4, which fits well, but the elastic in the back had to be shortened considerably. I also had to adjust the shoulder straps and shorten them by a few inches.

It's not a very long skirt so I trimmed it with hand-made bias tape instead of hemming because I didn't want to lose that inch.

She loves it and my 8-year-old as requested a top in the same fabrics! Luckily, I picked up both sizes at the pattern sale.

And with the shoes:

Little Folks Sweetheart Dress

I'm absolutely smitten with Anna Maria Horner's Little Folks Voile. The softness, the subdued yet vibrant color palettes, the lightweight, silky drape ... I love it all. And I love that I can make grown-up dresses out of actual apparel fabric! Don't get me wrong ... I love quilting weight cottons for apparel - and I use them all the time for skirts and dresses, but there's just something about sewing with fabric that was actually intended to be used for clothing -- it moves, it drapes, it hardly wrinkles, and it feels like heaven against my skin.

The pattern I used is New Look 6723 - commonly referred to as the Audrey Hepburn dress. I've had it for quite a while, and this is the third dress I've made with it. All three look completely different ... I'm planning another post comparing all three to show the versatility of it, and how a few creative alterations can completely change the final product.

Actually, this is the first dress that follows the pattern exactly. The only changes I made were to use an invisible zipper and a blind hem. I chose the sweetheart neckline

instead of the bateau, and I love how it turned out. It feels a little 1950s housewife, but the fabric is completely modern.

I wasn't sure I'd like the gathered skirt - I used pleats on the other two variations, but I think it works so well with this lightweight voile.

The bodice is lined with another Little Folks print ... I debated using more LF since it won't be seen, but I wanted the feel of voile for the entire dress, and besides, it looks awfully pretty on the hanger.

The most beautiful part? The entire dress is 100% cotton. Machine washable, cool, breathable - perfect for the hot, humid summer ahead.