Eyelet-Trimmed Tiered Dress

  I didn't make matching Easter dresses for the girls this year... three of them already had cute dresses that would work perfectly well. Beckers' dresses were all looking pretty worn-in though, so I made this for her:

  I used the Round Neck Ruffle Dress pattern from "Sew Classic Clothes for Girls" by Lindsay Wilkes, which was a birthday gift from my sweet mother-in-law last year. =) (Thank you, mama!)

I bought the pretty butterfly hair clip from my friend Tricia of LeafyTreetopLeather. =)

  I sewed a size 2 in width and 6 in height plus a bit extra so it would be just-below knee length, and switched up the height of the tiers somewhat to work better with the fabrics I had, and so I could use eyelet trim instead of the bottom tier. I prefer the proportions of the original pattern though. I didn't have to buy anything to make this dress!

  The pretty handkerchief-look fabric on the bottom was from my friend Karen a while back (thank you, Karen!), as was the pink linen sort of fabric I used for the bodice. The collar and green gingham were both from a set of fabric I found on Craigslist a few years ago... I've used the green before!

  I changed the sewing order a bit too... instead of sandwiching the bodice between the two collar pieces, then finishing the neckline edge with bias tape, I sewed the collar pieces together at the neckline and back edges and flipped it right side out. I basted the eyelet to the outer side of the collar, and sewed the bodice to the lining side, then pinned the top layer down to enclose the seam allowances and edge-stitched it down. I just love the collar fabric!

  I used KAM snaps for the back of the bodice. This dress doesn't have an opening in the top of the skirt below the bodice, so the skirt is sewn to both layers of the bodice at once, then finished and top-stitched. I was a little bit concerned that my serger wouldn't make it through all of those layers at the back! Also, please ignore the top-stitching on the bodice and focus on that lovely collar edge-stitching instead, okay?

  I would definitely add an opening to the skirt next time, and enclose the skirt seam, instead of following the pattern instructions.

   I wish the eyelet I'd had for the hem was wider (and the gathering, more even- clearly I rushed too much on this dress!) but it still worked.

  As for the fit- the measurement chart seems pretty accurate, and it fits Beckers pretty well! I think the collar shape isn't quite right for her somewhat more square than average shoulders, as it bunches up after it has been worn for a while, and a tiny bit wider would probably work better for her as well, but the bodice has just enough ease to pull on even without an opening in the skirt. The pattern wasn't trued, and the grading looked pretty uneven. However, I still plan to make more things from this book!

  And although I wish I'd been able to leave the proportions of the tiers like the original, I love these fabrics together, and on Beckers!

Thanks for stopping by,