Dress with flutter sleeves

Last week I was out for afternoon tea with a friend (adore tea in Gold Creek - my favourite) and when we were doing some shop browsing afterwards we came across some really sweet little dresses - super simple peasant dress style made from the softest lightest cotton with an old fashioned vintage sheets kind of look. We're still getting some pretty warm weather, so I was inspired to try and whip up something similar for Amelia when I got home.

While I was searching for patterns I found a cute free tutorial for a simple sundress (or tunic) with flutter sleeves on the blog It's Always Autumn. (Actually, there are loads of fantastic tutorials on the blog - do go check it out!) There is a pattern for a 4T size dress/top, and instructions on how to draft your own pattern for whichever size you want. When I printed out the 4T pattern and compared it to some size 1 patterns it was pretty close (possibly because some weird scaling happens when I print from my ipad) so I went ahead and made it in the tunic length.

The result was pretty good (although I do feel a bit like the sleeves might belong in a Project Runway avant-garde challenge!). The bodice could definitely be a bit narrower, but it's kind of nice to have something she can wear now and not grow out of in a couple of months (I won't be surprised if she's still in it as a tunic at 4, unless it's worn out). I do love the finish you get from ric-rac used on the sleeve like this - cute and so much easier than trying to turn and sew an even narrow hem (I'll do the same finish on the bottom hem - I was just keen to check the fit, and then thought I might as well snap some pics =))

Xo

 

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