Vintage Inspired Children’s Dress

Today, I’m reposting a vintage-inspired dress I created for Kristin and Jess’ Vintage May Series a little while back.  I hope it provides a little weekend sewing inspiration!

Isn’t Vintage May such a lovely idea for a sewing series?  I’m so excited to be included!  I do love some vintage goodness – furniture, dishes, housewares, sewing notions, clothing – I love to get lost in the stories of old items, imagining how these “vintage” items might have played a role in someone else’s life.  History makes everything so much more interesting and fun!  Children’s clothing from years past, in particular, conjures up images of innocence, attention to detail, simple embellishments, carefree play… It’s different in so many ways from today’s clothes.  It was hard for me to choose a direction for a vintage-inspired outfit – so many fun options to try!!  

 In the end, I created a sweet little dress with tucks, pretty piping, and embroidery details.  The fabric for the dress is Pink Mini Rose from the Annie’s Farm Stand line by designer Holly Holderman for Lakehouse Dry Goods.  Love this fabric!  The dress is cut in an A-line shape with cute little tucks across the bodice.  I used a new pattern – Butterick B4176 for this main part of the dress.  

But a vintage dress HAS to have a collar, right?  So, I added a crisp, white collar and embellished it with handmade piping.  A little satin bow finished it off.  

In the back, truth be told, I ran out of fabric, and had to get creative. 

 I actually love how the dress came out with the pieced white panels on each side of the center.  Rather than a zipper, I closed the dress with these great pink, vintage buttons all the way down the back.  And then I couldn’t resist throwing some embroidery on there, too.  

With so many “pretty” details, I decided to leave the dress sleeveless, with simple hemmed armholes.  Cute, puffy sleeves would definitely fit the vintage bill, but I think that by omitting them, I’ve created a lovely dress that is vintage-inspired, while still remaining current. 

Pretty, playful, and sweet.

For a roundup of all the contributions, please visit the Vintage May Series at Skirt as Top.