[Jane]

I saw this dress from mini Boden: http://www.bodenusa.com/en-US/Girls-1H-12yrs-Dresses/33242/Girls-1H-12yrs-Broderie-Party-Dress.html

I adore the colors and think it would be so pretty on Piper (maybe for Easter, if I can get finished sewing curtains and a dozen other projects in my queue). Anyway, I have some Moda Happy Flowers in turquoise but I only have 1 yard of it. If I do the layout just right, do you think I should be able to get a 2T/3T size dress out of a single yard of fabric? Or, should I troll the fabric websites looking for more?

Jane

[meleliza]

If youre willing to make the skirt less full and cut it one piece from the full width of the fabric, you might squeeze it in. You could also shorten the very deep hem of this, especially in quilting cotton.

I saw this one too and immediately thought of fairy tale. Mmm, maybe some pink batiste for the spring?

[Sarvi]

How wide is your fabric?

[Jane]

The fabric is 45″ wide.

Jane

[Robin]

Oh my goodness I want to make this too. I’ll add it to the ever growing list of awesome fairy tale possibilities. Thanks for sharing Jane.

[Tamara]

Such a delightful version! Really unsure about advising fabric strategies for your amount of yardage though. I know that I need at least 3 yards for my daughters fairy tale dresses, so I wish you lots of luck!

[with love Heidi]

Don’t forget you can cut out any facings or bits that won’t be seen from another (preferably co-ordinating) material to preserve as much as your main fabric as possible for the outer portion of the dress. I do this with the Badminton skirt, so I can get all the outer pieces out of about 1/2m.

[Lightning McStitch]

If you are successful can you put a post here: https://oliverands.com/forums/topic.php?id=1512

I’ll be very interested to see if it’s possible, as I’ve got a kid the same size and I always just seem to buy a metre of anything pretty….

[Jane]

LM,

I do the same thing. If I find a fabric I like but don’t have an immediate plan for it I only buy a yard of it. Then I am stuck trying to squeeze something out of every last inch when I do find a use for it. I may have to bump my random purchases us to 1 1/2 yards as little one gets bigger.

Jane

[Sarah_G]

It’s definitely worth laying out the pattern pieces.

I managed to get a 3T fairytale (no sleeves) out of 1 meter of Sateen (sorry not sure what width – I’ve only got scraps left). I lined the skirt and bodice with another lighter weight cotton.

I also agree with meleliza – you could save fabric by reducing the depth of the hem.

[Sarvi]

I am another that’s terrible for buying one yard cuts. Have you traced off the pieces that would absolutely have to be made from your main fabric and laid them out to see how tightly you can squeeze them in?

[Jane]

I do have the pattern pieces traced, I will try to lay it out at nap time and see if I can make it work.

Jane

[Nicole]

I cut Zara’s from not much more!

Absolutely have a go!

[Jane]

I did a quick layout and think it is possible but like meleliza said, I think I will have to sacrifice a little skirt fullness and just go with the width of the fabric. I will have to do the sleeveless version as well.

Here’s a rough look at the layout:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/notsewplain/8427456227/

Jane

[Sarah_G]

Plenty of fabric!

As Island Nana said on Flicker – The skirt back is cut as two pieces so just put those down on the bottom right next to your bodice front and move the back bodice up to the top right next to the skirt front and you won’t have to compromise on skirt fullness. (Hope that makes sense – let me know if it doesn’t and I’ll post a diagram). You might then be able to fit the sleeves to the right of the collar.

Gorgeous fabric – will make a lovely fairytale dress!