skirt as top

That sounds like a good plan to me! Definitely test the interfacing (which sounds like it’s amazing) before using it to see if it’s necessary, but it sounds like you’ve thought it out brilliantly.

Sorry for the silence! Yes, the hem for both views is the same allowance. Like Lightning says, it’s a short boxy style. It looks darling on her! It also depends on what you’re wearing with it. The cropped length looks great with the culottes, but it might be on the short side for other styles. It’s all about the silhouette, right?

The t-shirt is a boxy, cropped style. It’s very stylish especially when teamed with the culottes. But not, I found, on a little girl who insisted on wearing her skirts or pants with the front waistband pulled down below a toddler belly. Ugh.
I’m not sure about the hem length without getting the pattern out, but imagine it would be the same for…[Read more]

Hey Diane, I’d suggest lining with lawn. Kaufman makes a nice line of solid lawns that would be a great lining. I’m not sure you’d need to underline the dress, especially if you’re going to include the tulle, which will give the skirt more body for sure. Does that help?

What about using the Building Block Dress book to draft a collar of your own to fit the cape? A fur Peter Pan collar would be adorable!

The Little Things To Sew Cape has a good already and is probably closer to the swingy shape of your inspiration image.
Or, if it’s a fur/fake fur collar you’re wanting, then how about a removable faux collar. Makes it easier to wash the Cape if needed.
You could use a collar shape from the Building Block Dress Book and have it tie at the back, and…[Read more]

Hi Martha,

You can use the bodice hem of the basic Building Block Dress pattern as an estimated waist, but you’ll want to check it when doing a fitting with the muslin to be sure it’s accurate. Everyone is different, so it’s helpful to check and adjust as necessary.

Cheers,
Liesl

The pattern should be correct. There’s a good deal of negative ease here to account for a knit fabric with at least 25% stretch. They should fit to that body measurement fine. Did you use a knit with at least 25% stretch? That could be part of the issue.

Did you check your seam allowance?

I’m so glad you found what you needed! The people are Farmhouse are lovely.

that’s great @poppy_andrew they look perfect!

I would suggest holding the side front panel up to your body so you can determine where the waist and hips are for you vs. the pattern. I’d also suggest making a muslin because there is quite a bit of ease through the waist and the hips in this pattern. You might find that you don’t need to change it too much. But if you do, here is a tutorial to…[Read more]

Well done!

Great! If it still doesn’t lie flat after a good pressing, maybe try hemming it again? If your machine tension is off that could make the hem wavy. I think it’s just one of those things that gets better with practice. Glad you’re having fun with it!

What kind of fabric did you use? Slippery fabrics are more difficult to hem then more stable fabrics, so maybe that had something to do with it? Also, a good pressing can often solve a wavy hem…

It’s pretty easy to shorten sleeves. Just decide where you want them to end, add a hem, and cut the sleeves at that point on the pattern piece. Or wait until you can try it on and decide how short you want them to be then. You can always pin them to see if you’re happy with the length.

Completely agree, Sarvi. In fact, I think I wrote something similar in this post: https://oliverands.com/community/blog/2014/12/ask-me-how-to-buy-a-sewing-machine.html

I’m going to go off course here and say that you should check Yelp and ask around in your local sewing community to see who the most reputable dealer/repair shop is, and look at the brand they sell. If anything goes hinky or you just need service done, you don’t want to have to ship your machine. Also a local dealer will often include a few free…[Read more]

I’m going to go off course here and say that you should check Yelp and ask around in your local sewing community to see who the most reputable dealer/repair shop is. If anything goes hinky or you just need service done, you don’t want to have to ship your machine. Also a local dealer will often include a few free lessons/machine orientation to…[Read more]