tiny sundresses

I'm not sure where I first saw oliver + s mentioned, but somewhere, I ran across mention of a free pattern they were offering for a sundress. In my quest to learn how to sew, I must admit to being fairly cheap. I think I have only purchased one pattern so far. Most things I have made are from basic tutorials…some are simply measurements, some have free patterns you can download. Since I am a beginner, and bound to mess some things up along the way, I like it that there are so many free options out there for me to get my feet wet. If I find I enjoy making clothing, I can think about buying some patterns. We'll see how it goes.

Anyway, once I found this free pattern, I knew I needed a victim (or two) so that I would be more motivated to actually finish the project. I got in touch with a friend back home and got sizes for her two girls (who are, quite possibly, the cutest little girls on the planet. I kid you not.). So, with a goal, and some fabric I had bought forever ago, and one Old Navy shirt that so did not fit me any more, I was ready to go!

Here they are, posing on the back of my Adirondack chair. The girls' mom tried to send me a photo of the girls in the dresses, but alas, my phone plan doesn't let me receive photos. I know. I'm in the dark ages.



I really like how simple the dress is…and how many options there are to make it your own design. It can be worn alone in warm weather, or layered over a shirt with a cardigan over it in the winter. You could do a pattern for the main part of the dress and solids for the top. You could add embroidery or applique or ruffles or whatever! I think it would be cool to use a daddy's old jeans to make dresses for his girls.

I have to say that the pattern (there's a link on the right side of the blog. it's called the popover sundress) was really very well written…as one would expect of some folks who are in the business of creating and selling patterns! I base my evaluation on the fact that I was able to follow it…not on any comparisons with other patterns I've used. It's been several months since I made the dresses, but I don't recall any real hassles I encountered. I would definitely consider purchasing one of their more involved patterns in the future, based on my experience with this one. And no, they aren't paying me to say that. They don't even know I exist!