Having made H a pretty pink dress I then turned to her elder sister’s dress. She is 10 and likes everything in neutral shades, my original thought was to make a simple pinafore like her sister but without the sleeves, but then I thought she probably won’t want one too similar to her little sister so I started looking at the other patterns on Little Lizard King.
One pattern jumped out, the Evora dress, it’s a simple bodice at the front but the back has a crossover, perfect! Whilst my daughter Helen was home we popped into Harrogate and called in to the Remnant Shop, there I found a broderie Anglais, a little heavier than usual, in an off-white, stone sort of colour, it definitely came under the neutral colour!
It’s been a while since I made little girls dresses, my little girl is now in her 20’s and makes her own, I measured chest and waist, compared it to the pattern and cut out a size 7, she’s a slim young lady. I’d measured length before I chose the pattern, she wanted it short and her mum said below the knee! The pattern is designed to be 1.5″ above the knee, so I added three inches to the skirt. What I had completely forgotten is that a 7 year old is generally not as tall as a 10 year old!
The pattern was pretty straight forward to stitch, the instructions for the crossover bit at the back were easy to follow. I lined the bodice with a cream fine cotton. from my stash. The skirt could either be a circle skirt or a gathered one, I chose gathered as I wanted to use the broderie anglais pattern border round the skirt. It was meant to be stitched in two halves with pockets but I cut it in one piece so I kept the flow of the fabric pattern.
It was only when I finished the dress and hung the two dresses together that I thought about the height difference, as the dresses were similar lengths. I then had a panic that it would be too short, though I was sure P would be happy with too short! Or maybe the bodice would be too short…
It fitted beautifully and she loves it.
They haven’t quite got the idea of posing for my blog, I wanted a back view but I did smile when I saw the photo as it looks like they’re in trouble, stood by the fence 🙂
I ordered some labels as I was making H’s dress saying ‘Made by Grandma with love’ they arrived the next day, they looked lovely…and I’ve not seen them since!
It’s nice having children to sew for again and in June my first grandson is due, a little brother for these two. I’ve already got a quilt planned.
thecraftycreek 
Both look beautiful – girls and their dresses xx
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Oh! How beautiful! Super Grandma!
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I must confess, I do prefer the fabric for P’s dress myself, despite normally being a bright colour fan. There’s something about a really nice stone colour!
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The girls must be thrilled with their lovely dresses.
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They are beautiful, and so are the dresses you made them! Congratulations on that impending arrival.
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The girls are beautiful! 🙂
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These are just adorable, as are the girls! Have so much fun with them Grandma! (Kids can never have too many grandparents in my book!)
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Such a delightful post, Margaret.
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I loved the Remnant shop in Harrogate, such a variety of fabric and really helpful staff. I got the flower fabric from there. Totally digress, the dress is lovely, she will love having something totally unique.
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Absolutely gorgeous and both individual. How lovely to have 2 little girls to stitch for and now with a little boy on the way – you will be kept busy
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Just gorgeous! This reminds me of my mum sewing for me and my sister as children. She made the most beautiful things, with lots of added touches like your heart buttons and pockets. I’m sure these girls will have similarly lovely memories of your dressmaking for them!
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Top notch dresses for two adorable girls! I’am sure they will be among their favorite dresses 🙂
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Those are some lucky girls. I like that you managed to make dresses for them that were both tasteful and hopefully to their liking. The bodice type for grey dress is very nice !
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