Saturday 14 September 2013

Variation on the Itty Bitty dress


Having made the Itty Bitty Dress once, I thought I would make another one for Trisha, daughter of friends Gauri and Anshuman. I love this pattern. It's simple and clean looking; and easy for the parents to get onto the kid. But I was not sure that the rabbit-ear shoulder ties would work with all faces and in all materials.

Trisha is three plus, and older to Inika. So I had to be sure I cut the dress properly, as the pattern size was just right for her. Also, with her features, I was afraid that the tie-ups would distract from her expressive face. Now we wouldn't want that, would we???
So, I decided to experiment with the structure of the shoulder tie-ups and thin them down a bit. On a recent shopping expedition, I had seen a dress that had strappy tie-ups; and this provided me with the inspiration for Trisha's dress.

Here is Trisha modelling this dress.



Variations made:
  • The main difference was in the cutting of the bodice pieces. I cut the sides and neck as per the original instructions and pattern; but instead of following the pattern for the tie ups, I cut the top of the bodice straight across the straps.
  • I then trimmed the top of the bodice to form a smooth line. This was done for all four pieces. I then pinned the two front and two back pieces as usual.
  • I cut four strips of material 4 inches x 12 inches. Each was folded in half lengthwise; right sides together. I then sewed around three sides (both long and one narrow side) with a 1/4th inch allowance. I then turned out each strip and poked out the corners so I had 4 bands that were about an inch and a half wide.
  • Two bands were attached to the front bodice piece and two to the back piece like shown in this tutorial. (That was the only technique I took from this one; but plan to try the bodice for a niece soon.)

Finally I stitched around the edges, turned out the bodice piece and constructed the dress as usual. The skirt of the dress was cut, gathered and attached as per the instructions for the Itty-Bitty Dress. I had this satiny scarlet bias tape that I sewed over the waist to hide the joint while showing off the rich colour of the tape as well. it made for a lovely waist-band.

I was so thankful when the dress fit! The parents seem to be happy with the dress; and so does the little lady if the photo is anything to go by! :P


















Now to try more stunts for more kiddies and not-so-kiddies!! :D

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