Charlotte dress Part 1: making your pattern

Hellooo! and welcome to the Charlotte dress sew along, part 1!

Today we’ll be making the pattern for the dress. If you have the 6-12 month pattern already, skip to the bottom, if not, follow along!

See more after the jump!


Pattern making is really very easy, I just trace around clothing that fits my kids. So, you’ll need a shirt that fits your child-a tee shirt works well. Also something to use for your pattern-I’ve been using Freezer paper lately which I love, but regular printer taped together works, or wrapping paper, butcher paper, anything really!
Fold your shirt in half like so, then trace around the neckline, shoulder, and front. You’ll want to leave room for a seam allowance. I usually sew with a 3/8″ seam allowance, so adjust accordingly for your preferences.

Then trace the sleeve shape, and down the side of the shirt.
 This is what it will look like!
Then even up the sides, and figure out where you want the bodice to end, then draw a line across. (with a ruler)
You can also make the neckline slope a bit lower for the front piece, for this dress I did not since it’s for a baby. For an older child, I would.
Next: label the side as your fold, and add about 3/8″-1/2″ to the bodice piece, to leave room for the zipper.
This is probably confusing…just check out how wide your zipper sides are and use that measurement.
Did that help? It doesn’t make a huge difference.
Now for the sleeves, trace around like so…
And the curve….then continue the swoop down like the picture shows. This will allow for some gathering later!
 Now, cut out your pattern pieces.

 
Then, cut out your bodice and sleeves from the fabric!
Cut 4 of the back (with extension), 2 of main, 2 of lining.
Cut 2 of the front (without extension, just fold it back) on the fold. 1 of main fabric, 1 of lining.
Then cut two sleeves on the fold. (which will be the top-not labeled in pic, sorry!)
All done for today! Tomorrow we’ll work on the bodice!

Comments

  1. Yay! Going through the fabric stash right now. So excited to get started. Thanks.

  2. Thanks!This is helping a lot!

  3. Thrilled for another sew-along! Can’t wait to get started!

  4. This is so awesome!

  5. This is really neat. I was talking about pulling out my sewing machine this weekend ☺

    I’m following you now as well

    http://www.everydayexpressionz.com/

  6. Just a quick note to let you know that a link to this post will be placed on CraftCrave today [22 Feb 12:00am GMT]. Thanks, Maria

  7. I’m so excited to get started tomorrow, as soon as I finish unpacking.

  8. Thanks so much for posting this! i just got a sewing machine and i’m so excited to try this. Keeping my fingers crossed i can pull it off.

    ~Cheryl

  9. This one is soooo cute. Will start digging for fabric!

  10. Charlotte looks so formal in that first picture. It makes me chuckle:)

    Even though I’m not sewing along this week, I keep looking at this dress and thinking I might need to make one for my youngest to wear to my brother-in-law’s wedding this fall.

  11. Charlotte looks so formal in that first picture. It makes me chuckle:)

    Even though I’m not sewing along this week, I keep looking at this dress and thinking I might need to make one for my youngest to wear to my brother-in-law’s wedding this fall.

  12. Love it! I am going to do it though perhaps not until next week since I have a lot on my plate this evening. I really like how it is broken down into manageable steps to fit in when we have time here and there. 🙂

  13. You are a great teacher! Great photo illustrations!!! On behalf of all of cyber world, a big applause!

  14. This is an incredibly fantastic tutorial and dress – and it doesn’t hurt that it’s made out of Nicey Jane (my favorite!) So glad I found your blog 🙂

  15. Thanks for showing how to make a pattern! I don’t know if I’ll have time to sew if I keep reading this blog 🙂

  16. I am hoping to do this for my daughter’s easter dress! Can it easily be altered to a size 3? Any ideas on how much fabric I would need?

  17. I started on this dress a few weeks ago and set it aside–but I can’t wait to get back to it!

    It’s included on my roundup of dress tutorials that I love–here’s the link if you’re interested:

    http://twogirlsbeingcrafty.blogspot.com/2011/04/linky-love-diy-dresses-edition.html

    Thanks for inspiring me!

  18. Anonymous says

    This dress is adorable (and so is the little girl in the photo :)! Perhaps you already answered this questions somewhere, but where did you find the fabric? I really like the vintage-y look–so pretty!

  19. I am going to be starting this dress this weekend! I am washing the fabric tonight so I can start tomorrow. First I need to figure out how much to have for it. 🙂

  20. The dress is adorable and thanks so much for the instructions on how to make your own pattern for not just this but any dress!

    I pinned it on my baby clothes sewing Pinterest board so more people would find your pics.

    Jan
    Unique Baby Nursery Ideas

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