This post is a very special one! I made matching dresses for my (almost) 4 year old daughter and I using the Girls Patricia Pattern by Simple Life Pattern Co. and the Women’s Patricia Dress pattern by Sew Caroline paired with some really gorgeous crepe chiffon from Stylish Fabric. I collaborated with Kim of Sweet Red Poppy and her daughter by sewing matching dresses (hers are made in a different colorway of the same fabric print).
First of all, this fabric! It’s simply stunning. I chose to work with the off-white version of this crepe chiffon fabric, one of four different color options. While I was excited about the crepe part I was a little nervous about the chiffon. Typically chiffon is super light weight and sheer, so I didn’t know what to expect. When it arrived I instantly thought it was even prettier in person. It’s light, and partly sheer with really great crepe texture. (The colored versions are not as sheer as the white, Kim didn’t need to line hers). It has a little bit of stretch to it too. I would compare it to working with a rayon. I didn’t have much trouble with it. I washed and dried this fabric on a delicate setting in my washing machine and dryer and it came out great. I also used a really soft off-white rayon crepe to line my whole dress (more on that coming up later in this post). It made a really great lining for this dress.
Now on to the patterns I used! For my daughters dress, I used the girls Patricia Pattern by Simple Life Pattern Co. It comes in a dress and top option, both equally darling! It has a boho vibe with bell sleeves and a ruffle along the hem. I made a size 3 for my almost 4 year old girl and it fits perfect with a little room for growth; she’s pretty average in size. I made the more moderate skirt option for her dress, and slightly raised the back neckline by a few inches. I also cut her sleeves to be a short sleeve length with the added bell sleeve ruffle, per her request! She loves it and asks to wear it all the time. It’s so cute on her too!
The Women’s Patricia pattern is still currently in testing, but will be available on SewCaroline.com next week! I made the size small according to my measurements, but probably needed to make a size XS. The top is a little wider than it probably should be for me. (But I still love it!!!). I used the more moderate skirt option and added 6″ in length to make it a midi style. I also just used a single layer of fabric for my bell sleeves and dress hem ruffle. The pattern calls for two layers (one big piece folded in half to automatically finish off the hem edge). I also made the short sleeve option for my bell sleeve, I cut off a little more past the actual short sleeve marking to make it a little shorter. The sleeves are also a little too wide so next time I would narrow them down a bit too.
For the neckline of the bodice and bodice lining, after sewing them right sides together, I under-stitched the seam allowance to the lining, and skipped the top stitching step.
Let’s talk about lining this dress! (This is the same for both mine and my daughter’s dress). It’s super easy! The pattern calls for the bodice to be lined, so that’s simple and explained in the instructions. For the skirt, I cut out two skirts, one out of my floral fabric and one out of my lining. I sewed them up the same way, but hemmed the bottom of my lining skirt. (So it ends right where the ruffle starts on the bottom of my dress). To attach the skirt to the bodice, I pinned both skirts together and basted them together while I was putting in my basting stitches to gather the skirt to the bodice. Then I created my gathers at the same time for both the lining and skirt, and pinned them to the bodice, then sew, and finish. It was super easy and looks great.
It was so fun to do a mommy and me photo shoot and with some great friends too. We absolutely love our new dresses!
Now for the best part, there’s a giveaway! Head over to my Instagram post featuring these dresses to see what you need to do to enter! Good luck!
Photos by the talented Rachel of Little Fish. Fabric was provided by Stylish Fabric, but all opinions are my own.
