[Kim]

My granddaughter is 19 months old. Her chest measures 19 inches and her waist 17 inches. She is 36 inches tall. I want to make a size 2 or 3 for a flower girl dress for January. I just don’t dare to go down so small in size for her chest because her shoulders are wider. I made her the bubble dress in 24 months and it actually feels a little snug in the shoulder. I made the ice cream and the birthday party dress in a 2 and the are a little looser through the shoulders. Should I take the size 2 in somewhere? Any guesses for what size she would be wearing in January?

[sayiamyou]

Our girls sound very similar in measurements. The fit varies for each pattern. My daughter is 19M and wears a 12-18M in the Ice Cream dress (with an added inch in length), 3T in the Jump Rope dress, 18-24M in the Sailboat, 2T-3T in the Nature Walk, 2T in Hopscotch, etc.

Hah! If I could guess what she’d be in just one month from now I wouldn’t find myself re-tracing patterns! 🙂 Which pattern are you planning to make?

[Liesl Gibson]

Maraya, I’m curious about this. All our patterns are based on the same set of body measurements. The fit should really be nearly the same with everything, allowing for more ease (extra room) in some patterns that are less fitted than others. Do you find that, with your daughter, there isn’t enough ease in the over-the-head patterns? Some kids don’t like to have something pulled over their heads to get it on and off, so a little extra room might help them to feel more comfortable. We allow extra ease in most over-the-head patterns, but making a size larger couldn’t hurt for this, either.

If your daughter is 36″ high and measures 19″ in the chest, I would probably suggest that you make her a lengthened 18-24M or a 2T (not lengthened) in almost all our patterns. With younger children, the extra room in the chest won’t matter very much. It gives them a little more room to grow and to move. S, who is 5 1/2 now, measures a size 3 chest and size 5 or 6 in height. I make her a size 4 with extra length added because she looks lost in the larger sizes. And this still gives her room to grow.

I hope this helps!

[Rebecca W]

I agree with Liesl on this one for sizes. My daughter is 36″ tall and measure 19-20 in in the chest (hard to tell- she won’t stand still!) and I made her some 2T’s and they seem to fit her pretty well. I do find that the 2+2 blouses are getting a little shorter on her than I would prefer, but I think that is my preference. I made her a 3T ice cream dress and she swims in it. Oops- should have measured her first. 🙂 I did make a 3T school days rain jacket, and I am pleased with that, but I don’t mind a slightly over sized jacket that allows her room to grow. I would like to get 3 seasons of wear out of it- maybe more (this fall, next spring, and next fall). I am planning to make her a couple more things, and I am thinking that I will do lengthened 2T’s for those.

Oh- and your granddaughter is tall or my daughter is short- she will be 3 in a little over a month!

[sayiamyou]

Her granddaughter (and my daughter) is tall. My 19M old, also 36″, is as tall as a friend’s 3 yr old!

I think the Ice Cream dress is perfect on her in 18-24M, it’s not too baggy in the neck or the stomach. I tried the 2T in the Jump Rope, but it was so difficult to get it on her. It was just too tight in the chest. I had to struggle to get her in it and that isn’t what I want her to associate with things I make for her. This is the only pattern that has given me grief with over the head, but the size up solved that.

The hopscotch and sailboat are great in 2T, but I can’t layer the Nature Walk made in a quilting cotton like I can the one I made in fleece. I’ll have to make a 3T for that.

I have noticed that the measurements are the same, but it must be preference for fit that causes the sizing variations for me.

[Kim]

Thank you all for the wonderful information about the different dresses and their sizing and how they fit on a tall 19 month old. I just made my granddaughter a School Days jacket in a size 2 and it fits her well.