This was my favorite holiday gift project- matchy matchy outfits for my little girl and our new dog Suki! Ami is very picky when it comes to me sewing her clothes so it took me ages to settle on the perfect pattern. Simplicity 8567 has the best statement sleeves and modern silhouette. Ami actually picked out the fabric when I was shopping for my Christmas fabrics this year and I asked her opinion on a few prints. By the time Christmas rolled around she had totally forgotten looking at this print but loved it!
All the Details:
Patterns-
Simplicity 8567 Girls Dress with Sleeve Detail in size 8 View C
Simplicity 2393 Dog Clothes View A without embellishments (sized up drastically as this is a pattern for tiny chihuahuas and Suki is a 16lbs. Chiweenie)
Fabrics-
Aquarelle Study in Wash, Art Gallery Fabrics by Bonnie Christine from Hawthorne Supply Co. (currently Out of Stock- but they have lovely prints!)
Minky Lining from Joann’s for Suki’s vest as well as hardware.
Let’s start with the dress. I love how this is constructed! The flutter sleeves attach with a raglan side seam. I cut the dress in a straight 8 and it fts my 7.5yo perfectly. No alterations needed at all. I’ve already cut out a second version in a pink silky heart fabric. I’m making Amelie and I matching dresses for Valentine’s Day. My version will be a Vintage Vogue Bias dress.
For the dog vest I enlarged the pattern by tissue fitting my dog-no easy feat. This one is really more decorative then wearable. It’s not really sturdy enough in the cotton. But it’s cute and made a great muslin. Next time I’ll make it in a heavier weight fabric with some padding and change up the closures.
I also made Jacky- Amelie’s American Girl Doll- a dress to match with the remnants. Doll clothes are the best use of scraps ever! They use such tiny bits of fabric. This dress was self drafted to match Ami’s off a basic shift dress from Simplicity’s American Girl line. I made a bunch more with the actual patterns that I’ll share soon. I made little matching outfits for everything I made for Amelie this Christmas. My friend Karen got Ami the best gift-the sewing set pictured above. It’s freakin adorable!
Ami was thrilled to dress up and do a little photo shoot on New Years Eve. We took Suki for a little stroll around our community. The only tricky part was getting all these pics while in motion.
We had a wonderful New Years eve with our friends at home and then celebrated with my in laws New Years Day. Best way to start the year with family and friends! I’ve been sewing up a storm lately so I have tons of new makes to share soon. Happy Sewing!
And we have a winner! How thrilled does your daughter look? So cool.
Thank you for the sewing inspo. It’s hard to find children’s designs that walk a line between not too childish and not too adult, not too frilly and not too plain. This sleeve design is a brilliant, simple update. I’m going to buy this pattern. I love the version you made, and the pattern could go flouncier or simpler if desired.
For doll clothes mojo I hope everybody’s seen Handmade by Carolyn’s pattern and blog. http://handmadebycarolyn.com.au/2018/11/the-kimberley-doll-pattern.html
Happy New Year from a longtime reader, first time commenter.
Thanks so much Judy! I’m so happy with how this dress turned out- and how much Ami loves it! It’s a great pattern. Happy New Year to you too! I’m off to check out that link!
I actually used to make art dolls myself before I started sewing clothes (and had kids).
Your daughter has excellent taste!
Thanks Bea! I agree!