Thursday, May 23, 2013

Sewing Project: CKC Ruffled Dress

Ugh. I think that bad dream I had about failing on Project Runway has cursed my Thurlows. I was making good strides and I thought it was all downhill, but yesterday I realized that somehow I'd cut my waistband pieces backwards. Ugh. Thank goodness I have enough extra fabric to recut. I almost chucked the whole thing into a corner and started something else. Y'know, a revenge project. That makes sense, right?

ANYWAY! If you subscribe to the Sew Can She daily newsletter, then you might have seen the free pattern from Create Kids Couture to make this ruffled dress:


In anticipation of summer, I had been looking for a quick, painless pattern to make a bunch of summer dresses for AB. Preferably with raglan sleeves or sleeveless, and no closures (did I mention I wanted something FAST??). And of course, something I could make with knits. I'm pretty sure CKC intends for this pattern to be made with wovens, but I made it in a knit and it worked.

Future heartbreaker.

Everything I love about a girl's dress is in this pattern. Easy to sew, easy on and off (there's an elastic neckline) and it's the same front to back (no figuring out which side is which, a problem my husband frequently has with the clothes I make for AB). What makes this pattern even more amazing is that there's only ONE pattern piece (for the sleeve). All the other pieces are rectangles, the dimensions of which are provided in the pattern. The instructions were easy to follow, and you can whip a bunch of these up in no time.


I also liked that the length for the elastic was provided in the instructions. A lot of patterns tell you to put the half-finished garment on your child and measure elastic to fit. YEAH RIGHT! Not possible on a 15-month old. AB had a routine check-up yesterday, and her pediatrician said that between 15 months and 2 years, toddlers get this weird "don't come into my bubble" attitude with their personal space. Kinda made me laugh, since AB has no concept of MY personal space and treats me like a jungle gym.

These are her outside shoes...please ignore!

I made this dress before I got my serger, so I finished the seams with a zig-zag on my regular machine. I've been lazy with seam finishing, but it's one of my goals for this year to do higher quality work. I used a video from Jalie (mentioned here at Made by Trisha) for instructions on how to finish seams with knits. It worked great, is much more durable, and didn't add too much extra time to the project.


This dress is a size 18 months, which is the smallest size for the pattern. As you can see, it's still big on AB, AND I used a larger seam allowance than what is noted in the instructions. The instructions say to use a 3/8" seam allowance, but I used 5/8" because I figured it would be too big, and I just like 5/8" better! I did make one other change, which was to hem the sleeves without making an elastic casing. Sometimes I think little girls' dresses go overboard with ruffles, so I decided to keep it simple.


The fabric is a fantastic lightweight cotton jersey, perfect for summer. You may recognize it from the Madison Dress I made previously. It's so pretty!


I hope you give this pattern a try and let me know how you like it. There's also a matching purse! Oddly enough, AB already has a few purses, so I'm not in a hurry to make her another. What summertime sewing is on your agenda?

Pssst...It's Thrifty Thursday time again at Peek-A-Boo Pattern Shop! Today you can snag the Susie Sun Dress for only $4! Be sure to check out the complete summer line of patterns, there are some adorable new designs.

2 comments:

  1. Eeek, that is SO CUTE!! Good luck with your Thurlows! Hopefully you can show them who is boss :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I think the Thurlows are about whipped...hopefully finishing them up today or tomorrow! Then it's back to easy knit dresses haha!

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