Paisley rose summer dress

Summer is coming fast and it’s time to come out of my lethargy and work on DD’s wardrobe a bit. I’ve had this pattern on my list for a while and was really surprised that there’s no review on pattern review.

The fabric is a poplin from the stash that I got on Ebay maybe 18 months ago. I though the simple lines of the pattern would go well with the busy fabric and the full skirt goes well with the girliness of the flowers too.

If you make this dress, be warned: it’s narrow. The magazine pic is kind of a hint, albeit the kind you notice after you’ve made up the pattern. I’m glad I let DD try it on before finishing the side seams because if I had made them as french seams like I had planned, it would’ve come out way too small. Instead, I used my machine’s overlock stitch i.e. a 0.5cm-seam allowance instead of 1.5cm i.e. 4 cm added. I admit DD is not the thinnest toddler but it’s a lot and an unusual alteration for her “made by mom” clothes. It’s also rather short (this is a size 116 on a 4yo!), which is why I opted for a rolled hem. I’m even considering adding a  hem ruffle to make it a bit longer but I’d have to find a matching fabric because I squeezed this one out of 1 m and don’t have anything left.

I wonder why Burda adds a zipper on a dress that has a polo opening AND opened shoulders. I skipped it. And since the polo opening is going to be functional. I substituted the buttons for snap fasteners so DD could get in and out of it alone. I’ll get some cute buttons and sew them on top for decoration. One of these moments I wish I had a button stash.

I didn’t really read the instructions, just whipped it the way I thought right, and I like the result. All in all a great pattern that’s quickly finished.