Good morning! Did you have a restful weekend? K has 3-D Art camp this week, so I’m excited to get a bunch of projects underway while she’s artistically entertained, but first, let’s talk about sewpony‘s Debbie’s Birthday Dress! It’s my turn on the blog tour, and I tell you, I love this pattern!
I don’t know why, but I keep wanting to make this pattern in yellow fabrics. My first version was in a mustard linen. And the stripey DBD hack I sewed up included the brightest yellow ever. You can see the dresses here.
This time around, I used a Sevenberry cotton fabric with adorable pears. I’ve had this fabric for so long, I have no idea where it’s from and I can’t find it online. The selvage indicates that it’s made in Japan, and it has the “kawaii” feel to it for sure. It’s modern, yet gives a nod to a retro style, so I thought it would look great as the Debbie’s Birthday Dress. Please ignore her hair – she likes to rock the bedhead look. As does Hannah:
American Girl fever is still going strong around here, and I couldn’t not make a mini matching dress for Hannah. I used lace from my stash instead of fiddling with a miniature peter pan collar, and I used snaps for the back. K and her friends were delighted by the matching outfits. And friends, Hannah’s dress is fully lined. I was all impressed with myself.
Speaking of peter pan collars, Suz’ instructions on creating one is very clear and helpful. As for the fabric, I actually used an old Ikea curtain! It’s cotton and kind of sheer, but with interfacing, it looks great. I like how the collar extends all the way around very nicely (it looks uneven in the photo, but it’s symmetrical, I swear), and I’m enamored with the vintage style.
To avoid my recurring pitfall of unmatched prints, I cut the front piece on the fold instead of creating a seam as the design calls for, and I also omitted the pocket. I love the simplicity of the style — and it was super quick to sew too. In fact, it took longer to sew the doll dress!
I had the honor of testing Suz’s inaugural pattern, and it was a really fun process. Because this dress is sewn using the test pattern, the length is a little shorter than the final version. Mine came out to 23 inches (59cm) from the shoulder to hem for size 7 (the final pattern version should hit at about 26 inches), and it works for us.
So. Congrats to Suz for her brand-new pattern and etsy shop, sewpony Vintage!! Enter the code BLOGTOUR1 for a 20% discount for the duration of the tour (it ends this Saturday, so hurry, hurry!).
I’m working on yet another Debbie’s Birthday dress hack, and will share it with you soon. That’s the thing about this pattern – so versatile!! You can also see some fabulous dresses in the Flickr group. And make sure to check out all the other stops on the tour because they’re all sorts of awesome. Thanks for the great pattern, Suz!
Hi Sanae…
Lovely dresses!!! Thank you sooo much for all your kind words about my pattern…You have posted one day early…oops. the time difference has caught a few people up!! I will link to you tomorrow if that is okay?? The pattern tour ends on Saturday too:))
Oh, I’m so sorry Suz!! That time difference is going to kill me…so, so sorry. I’ve also updated the pattern tour info.
ha, sanae and her early posting. well, you certainly take deadlines seriously! adorable dress(es)–i have loved all your debbie bday dresses 🙂
Gah! I’m the worst – Suz has been so patient with my repeat posting snafus…one day, I will finally get things right!! 🙂
Hi Sanae,
a post on sunday afternoon, you made my sunday! The Dress is lovely, i especially love the bold yellow with those little pears. Really Lovely! I look back to the mustard version and find both to be very sweet.
I’m tempetd to make one for my little daughter. For a little girl the linen blend might be to stiff, what do you think? Maybe a quilting cotton or shirting is more approbiate?
I’m curious to hear your opinion.
Marit
Thanks Marit! You made me feel better about my mistake (this was meant for Monday) 🙂
As for fabrics, it really depends on the linen blend. I’ve used linen/rayon blends that are very soft and get softer with every wash, but some linen/cottons are a bit stiff and could be a little too stiff until you’ve washed it a few times (but holds the shape nicely). The mustard linen I used for the first Debbie dress I made was actually a linen/rayon blend. The stripey version has all sorts of linen blends pieced together and is a very sturdy dress, but I don’t think it’s uncomfortable (K has worn it several times now and likes it).
Quilting and shirting definitely work well, and this pear print feels like quilting cotton. I used a very drapey and sheer cotton to line the bodice, to keep it feeling light and summer-y. Looking forward to seeing your version if you make it, Marit!
darling! i’m so glad that sewing for dolls is still happening at 7…it’s the sweetest thing ever! i love the pear fabric and K is stunning in yellow. this pattern is looks great!!
It’s a great pattern with endless possibilities, Gail! So K has never been all that into dolls, but her best friend is obsessed with AG dolls so I think there may have been some influence there. She does seem to enjoy playing dress-up with Hannah, and it’s so sweet to watch. I was actually surprised that AG dolls are targeted for girls 8 and up…
Sanae, this is adorable! I originally thout to make coco’s Debbie in yellow too. Hmmm. I love the shape of this dress. Between you and me, I’m dying for school to start so I can get some uninterrupted time at the machine! Hope K enjoys art camp. 🙂
Thanks Erin! The pattern does seem a perfect match for cheery yellow, right? I hear you on the uninterrupted sewing time…this camp came at the perfect time because K was starting to get bored hanging out with me all day 🙂
I love yellow!!! Can’t get enough of it. Really cute, Sanae! How funny that the doll dress took longer.
Thank you, Venus! To be fair, the drafting of the doll dress pattern took the longest, but sewing on the snaps was the real time hog. Next time, I’m slapping on some Velcro!
Congrats on being part of the pattern tour, Sanae – that’s pretty exciting:) Your version of the DBD is, of course, just amazing. It has such a fun energy to it; actually it would fit very well on the pages of a MiniBoden catalog (who would have thought that a self-proclaimed lover of simple Japanese aesthetic could also rock the funky, fun style of MiniBoden?! No surprises that you can, though:).
Oh, so flattered to be compared to Mini Boden – I love their stuff! Yes, very exciting to be part of the DBD tour! I’ll be part of a couple more blog tours this month, and let’s hope I finally get it right 🙂