Sunday, August 29, 2010

Cotton Cutey

New Look 6959

Pattern: 
Fabric: Coordinating cotton prints I bought last summer at a Ben Franklin store.  We were camping in East Tawas, Michigan, and the Ben Franklin had quite a few really cute cotton prints.  Little Miss Princess picked out the main flowered fabric, and I chose the others to match.  The pattern called for 1 5/8 yd for view A (60" wide), and I think I had 1 1/2 of it, along with 1/2 yd pieces of the pink and checked. For the record, I wouldn't typically make her a mostly black dress, but she picked it, and the pink/white/yellow help lighten it up.

Alterations:  No fitting alterations, I made her the size 6 according to the finished garment measurements on the pattern paper.  The "ribbon" treatment and sleeve ruffle were design changes to incorporate the other prints.  For the added sleeve ruffle, I just added an inch at the hem, and treated them as a single ruffle.  For the side bands, I made two sets of flat tubes, and stitched the smaller on the center of the larger.  I placed them inside the seams of the front and back bodice pieces.  I chose not to make them tie in the back because... 1) it would've been a hassle for her at school and 2) I didn't feel like making that length of the flat tube ribbon.  True story... I can be a lazy sewist.  Shocking, but true.
Notions:   14" zipper.  Tiny bit of interfacing for the neckline facings.
Skill Level: Beginner!  The front pleats were a little bit tedious, but that's what makes it look NOT homemade.  This was a stop and go project because of the vacation, but it could've easily been put together in a single day.
Warnings:  The skirt pleat markings on the pattern confused the daylights out of me (because of the multi-sized lines), so I made the box pleats like I usually do and it's perfect.

Future Plans:  This is a really sweet pattern, and she loves it.  If I make another, it won't be 'til next spring.  She'll almost be 8 by then, so if she still like the style, I'll do it again.  It's not too "little girl", and it's not "too grown up", so I really like it.

16 comments:

Michelle said...

How adorable! What a great combination of fabrics, she looks so cute!

AuntieAllyn said...

What a sweetie pie! She looks like she loves the dress, and I don't blame her . . . looks just adorable!

Carolyn (Diary of a Sewing Fanatic) said...

What a great dress! She looks sooo cute in it.

marysews said...

She is so cute, and the dress looks so much better than anything on the pattern envelope!

KID, MD said...

What a cutie!!

meredithp said...

She is adorable and it's so nice that she obviously loves what Mom puts together for her! Too bad she can't stay like this forever. Her tastes may change, but I'll be her Mom can keep rockin' out the cool stuff.

Amanda S. said...

So cute! I love the fabric and trim you chose.

Gorgeous Things said...

Oh she looks fabulous! And she has her mommy's beautiful smile. :)

Mary said...

What a perfect dress for the beginning of school. She looks really happy with her new frock too!

gwensews said...

That's a really cute dress. I don't know how you find the time to do all that you do. Amazing!

Julia said...

This turned out to be sooooo very cute. Your work is impeccable! She looks so happy!

Rose said...

Cute dress!

Summerset said...

Super cute!

amber said...

How precious is your daughter?! Very cute dress - she looks so happy in it.

Bunny said...

Absolutely darling! And she is such a little beauty!

Beangirl said...

Oh my gosh, so cute! Cute dress too. I like the black, but then I'm, you know, "artistic". ;-)

Man, I am hating that school uniform policy more and more. This would be so cute in an everyday fabric for school. Stupid rules!

Er. I mean the rules are stupid. Not that being stupid, you know, rules.

Oh good grief.