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Safety Notice: Handmade items made from this pattern may contain small parts or long cords that pose choking or strangulation risks. Not suitable for children under 3 years. Please see the full safety disclaimer at sewmag.co.uk/safety.
This no-pattern make is ideal for those of you looking to dress your little girl up in something sweet for festive parties. Made from satin and patterned interiors fabric, both the dress and its matching cape are lined to ensure a comfortable fit.
Make a little girl’s dress
Cut two 23cm x 34cm (25cm x 36cm, 27cm x 38cm) rectangles from red satin. Pin them with right sides together and lay them out so the longer edges are facing you, with the shorter edges forming the sides. Create a semi-circular template with a 14.5cm diameter and position centrally along the top long edge of the fabric. Draw around it with a fabric pen to create the neckline. Measure 2.5cm down from both top corners and draw a line from this mark to the outer edge of the semi-circle, this creates the shoulder slope. Measure 6cm up from the bottom corners, and mark. Measure 8cm along the shoulder slope (outwards from the neckline) and mark, then connect with the last marking to create the armholes. Cut out.
Cut two further 33cm x 68cm (36cm x 72cm, 39cm x 76cm) rectangles from red satin – these will become the skirt. From the printed fabric chosen for the cape, roughly cut out a large flower (or other motif) then trim a piece of fusible webbing to the same size and attach to the wrong side of the bloom.
Trim the flower and position onto the skirt, so the petals hang over the bottom edge. Trim the overhanging petals and iron into place. Set your machine to a wide zig zag stitch and, using matching thread, work around the edges of all the petals, holding the fabric taught so it doesn’t pucker. Press.
Stitch along the top edge of each skirt piece using a machine running stitch and pull to gather until they each measure 34cm (36cm, 38cm) across. Space the gathers evenly. Place each skirt piece right sides together with a bodice piece, aligning the top gathered edge of the skirt with the bottom of the bodice. Pin, tack, then machine stitch into place.
Cut two 34cm (36cm, 38cm) pieces of decorative braid and pin to the bodice front, 3mm up from the waist. Machine stitch each edge to secure.
Roughly cut out a smaller flower (or other motif) from the cape fabric, then back with fusible webbing. Trim the motif and iron onto a piece of felt. Roughly cut out, then set your machine to a narrow zig zag stitch and sew around each petal. Trim the felt to leave a 2mm border.
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