Peasant Dress

I love a little peasant dress. They are so simple and easy to wear. I think I can even risk saying timeless, at least for kids. I have now made this style 6 times over the last year. 3 times with short sleeves posted here and now 3 with long sleeves (two posted here). This however, is the first time I have made it for something other than nightwear. The pattern is the free Raglan Sleeve Night Dress pattern from iKat bag. The version she has generously shared comes in two sizes, 3T and 5T, but are short sleeve only and does not include the ruffle you see here. 

I used a course grain shirting fabric that I have been hording in my stash for I don't know how long. I love this fabric mainly because of the color. The aqua blue matches Hannah's eyes almost perfectly. I have to apologize for how wrinkly this looks, I has been washed, worn and ironed several time before I could get pictures. Until you get these things in pictures you never really notice it. 

A good boot is critical to a woman's wardrobe. And little girls too too, don't you think? One of my kids favorite song is "Boots" by Laurie Berkner. So it is easy to convince Hannah to wear her super cute brown boots. They even have a cute bow to boot! (sorry for the pun ;)

Hannah didn't love this dress at first since it doesn't twirl but the boot's fixed that problem. I think the ruffle helped too.

Adding the ruffle and the length for a long sleeve is very simple. It's always a good idea to make a pattern to the specifications provide by the designer at lease once prior to attempting modification on your own. The first 3 times I did it pretty much as designed, except shorter for a night shirt instead of a night dress. So I had a good feel for how the sleeve worked before monkeying around with it. 

With this particular pattern it was easy to measure the length of Hannah's arm (neck to wrist) and add the length to the pattern by following the gradual tapering of the arm on the pattern to your desired length. The ruffle was even easier, I just cut two 3.5" strips the total width of the fabric (42" I think). Used a .5" hem (I serge the raw edges), ruffled with gathering stitches and used .5" seam allowance for a finished ruffle of 2.5" wide. Oh and I top stitched it too so the ruffle would stay down.

That makes me think of something. Now that I have been doing a good deal of clothes sewing I can't help but notice how often store bought clothes are missing things like top stitching. Now keep in mind I don't shop at super expensive stores which I am sure add that little something more to make them more expensive (at least that's why I hope they are so expensive.) It is things like adding top stitching to a ruffle or the lining of a shirt so that the garment appears right even after many washes. I am sure other sewist out there feel the same way. It's so frustrating to spend the money, even if it is a "good deal" when it is not put together right or uses low quality fabric. Sometimes I have to make a compromise which is usually when it comes to knits and jean's (oh and sweaters. I don't knit). Neither are my favorite to sew with and the fabric can be more expensive then buying ready made clothes. But when it comes to things I can and like to sew I try and make those myself.

Well I digress, I'm sorry for the rant. 

I'd love to get your opinion, I'm taking a little pole. Leave me a comment which do you prefer a peasant dress or pillowcase dress? You can like them both but which do you like better?

Thanks for stopping bu the nest!

Darla