Cutie Pie in a Drop Shoulder Dress

By Dr. Julie-Ann, on June 5th, 2012

I started working on a McCall’s 5966 “Sew*Crafty” (View C) dress for Baby, er, I mean, Toddler Alice at my American Sewing Guild Neighborhood Group meeting in March. Per my usual modus operandi, I spent more time chatting than actually sewing. But I did somehow manage to get the bodice put together.

Pink and white swirly floral print cotton blend

Then I started working on the Every Stitch a Prayer project for my older sister and Alice’s dress got put aside.

And then I got my sinus and ear infections and that wiped me out for a good three weeks or so in May. Seriously. I was so grateful that my school year was over. I don’t know how I would have been able to teach. I tried working on Alice’s dress but I kept making mistakes so I did what my body was demanding of me: I rested.

And then my sister, Jill, told me that Alice was having a growth spurt and we panicked about whether the dress would still fit her. When I was feeling well enough to sit at the sewing machine, I finished Alice’s dress and mailed it off to her.

Alice on her way to church in her new dress

Pattern Review:

This dress is very easy to put together and it turns out looking like it is much harder to make than it is. The hardest part is gathering the waist. Well, and working with such small pieces (the armhole seems so tiny!).

But, as you can see, despite the fact that Alice’s measurements aligned with Size 2 exactly, the dress is still too big even after her growth spurt. The shoulder shouldn’t be coming 2″ down her arm.

She’ll grow into it but it is still annoying that pattern companies put so much ease into their patterns. Because it was a children’s pattern, I didn’t even think to check the actual pattern measurements against Alice’s measurements before I cut out the fabric. Now I know that I need to do the double-check, even on children’s patterns. The idea that even a toddler’s clothes needs pattern adjustments doesn’t thrill me…at all.

(I can hear my pattern making instructors telling me that it is easier to draft your own pattern than to use a commercial pattern!)

Construction note:

Because the fabric was a lightweight cotton, I used my pinking shears to finish the raw edges.

Next up on the sewing docket:

Now that I’m starting to get my energy back, some clothes for me!

Kathy Warnock

June 5, 2012 at 5:25 pm

Welcome back! I’ve missed you. No one takes your place.

I had the same experience with a toddler pattern a couple of years ago. I made a cute little sundress, a size one, for our granddaughter’s first birthday. I know she wore it the next summer, and I swear she could have worn it when she was three. It’s disappointing that the pattern companies don’t stick to the standard that they establish.
Kathy Warnock recently posted..BIG STORM A-COMIN’

Dr. Julie-Ann

June 5, 2012 at 5:39 pm

Thanks, Kathy!

I have a feeling that Alice will be wearing her dress for quite some time, too! Thank goodness she lives out in the desert and can wear it well into fall before the temps start dropping too low for her to wear it.

Dawn

June 6, 2012 at 5:23 am

I used to keep up with an heirloom sewing forum, and the real consensus there was that the “big three” pattern makers patterns for toddlers/babies are all HUGE. And as you found out, the measurements listed on the pattern envelopes are completely erroneous!

In case you are interested, this website carries a wide selection of really nice and realistically sized baby’s and children’s patterns:

http://www.peanutbutter-n-jellykids.com/shop/Patterns1.htm

Just be forewarned, it’s very easy to get “lost” among all the gorgeous stuff on the website! NAYY