Annie’s Reversible Dress

For my quasi godchild Annie’s third birthday, I had this idea of making a simple kind of reversible pinafore dress with two complementing fabrics. I found these at a local shop, for once; I would have preferred to use two slightly more different designs, but well…

I did not actually use a pattern here, but adapted the bodice part from one (in order to make sure the armscyes were all right, mostly), adding the button tape in the centre back. As simple as the idea was, the actual sewing took quite some time, since both sides had to be executed with equal accuracy, and gathering both skirts at the same time gave me plenty of reason to cuss, too. Still, I am very happy with the result.

In the pictures you see the dress from both sides as well as close-ups of the back. I put small mother-of-pearl buttons on both sides, so that closing the dress is possible with one buttonhole tape.

The other pictures show how I finished the hem with cross-stitches done alternatingly in pink and blue thread, and the arm holes using bias tape and hand-stitching, as well.

Patenkind Dress

I’ve just found pictures of this dress that I made about two months ago, for the little daughter of a very good friend of mine. I used a Burda kids pattern, changing it quite a bit as I went along, though.

I used a red linen fabric with white pinstripes, and the back closes with three press buttons sewn in, visibly, by hand. I left out the complicated smock around the waist that the original pattern included.