Tiny sundresses
I confess: I finished up my Last Sundress, and what did I do?
Turned around and made two more.
At least these ones aren’t for me—they’re for my little nieces. And they give me a chance to use some of the really insanely cute vintage kids’ patterns I’ve picked up, that my kids are just not going to go for.
Style 2304
Let’s start with Style 2304, which is intended for my younger niece. Is that not the epitome of 70s-kid-cute?
So I was a little worried about starting with a regular size 4 pattern; this is the Waif we’re talking about, who is four but probably still newborn in width. I decided, upon cutting it out, that it was way too wide, and shaved a couple of inches off by adding a pleat at CF and taking a bit off at the back. Because the yoke was now narrower, I narrowed the straps by a similar amount. So the look is a bit different—longer relative to its width, and more delicate—than I think I was really going for. And I didn’t want to shorten the length because I know my stylish sister-in-law doesn’t really like how short a lot of the vintage kids patterns are, but combined with the narrowed-ness and the ruffles, I kinda feel like it looks a bit more little-house-on-the-prairie than I had intended. Not quite my favourite look. I suppose I can always shorten it later if desired.
Buttons
I went with buttons in the back. I had three not-exactly-matching red buttons fished out from the random button stash, but when I went to stitch them on the plastic between the the holes of one was, ah, missing. Meaning the thread fell straight through. Not exactly a useful button to hold on to, button stasher. So now I’m a button short; I’ll have to go through and see what else I can come up with.
I must admit, I kind of broke my brain adding the piping and the little ruffle sleevelets on this one. In the end I resorted to finishing the inside of the armscye by hand.
I like that the amount of gathering under the yoke is really minimal (even with me lopping a couple of inches off the yoke and leaving the skirt piece the same.).
And I think that is about as much as I have to say about that dress. Under the fine old academic principle of the Minimum Publishable Unit, I’ll tell you about the even-cuter Simplicity 1149… next time!
Tanit-Isis Sews 
Very cute! Very 70’s in a great way.
Might be a little LHOTP but that was the 70’s too…well, not set in the 70’s obviously…
Yeah, I get you š We’ll see…
So so so cute. And I grew up in the 60s and 70s, so I don’t always have the most rational reaction to the clothing from that era. š
LOL! Yeah, it’s funny how our feelings about times/styles morph over time…. I’m not convinced the words “rational” and “fashion” belong in the same concept, though… š
Cute!
thanks!
That’s adorable! I love that red polka dot fabric. Is it the same fabric you used on that sundress (and I think another outfit somewhere)?
Yeah, I made Fyon a dress from it last summer, and a little shirred dress for Syo not long after…
I worry occasionally about whether my future kids will like my sewing for them…and now I need to add on wondering if they’ll like vintage styling, too š That red with the piping and ruffles is absolutely precious, and I didn’t think LHOTP at all! Then again, I might be biased because my favorite dress when I was that age was a red and white ruffled number…
Hehe… I think if you start the sewing right from baby years you’ll have a few years of stylistic freedom before they start asserting their own (generally contrary š ) preferences. On the other hand, I’m pretty sure if I’d been sewing for my kids since they were babies, they’d be so over mom-made clothes by now….
I’m kinda in the same boat, in that I don’t have a little girl to sew for. I mean I have a little girl, but she has a closet stuffed to the brim with hand-me-down dresses and ruffly things from friends and Nanas. My son always needs new clothes, but c’mon….boys’ patterns are pretty boring and harder to find. š¦
LOL—yeah, I’m pretty sure my nieces have no need of further flutteries… But it’s fun to make something cute and little once in a while.
Oh they are cute. And I would have worshipped my mother forever if she had of made me a LHOTP dress in the ’70’s, but my mum didn’t sew, so I resorted to stealing floral bedsheets and wrapping them around me and then running around in dad’s wheat fields for hours! I hope your nieces adore them (and you!).
Oh, gosh! That’s dedication. I’m so sorry. I’m pretty sure I had at least one “pioneer dress” from age six ’til I was twelve or so…. š
Cuuuute! I love that you used vintage kid’s patterns. So much fun.
They’re so cute! But convincing the kids of that is the trick….
So adorable! I especially love the red one. The pindots are perfect for it.
Ruffles and piping and …. yep the kids love it. Very cute though the blue one is their fave cos of the bow. I don’t think my two are going to be subtle ever.