The Sewing Place

Flower Girl dress

Francesca

Flower Girl dress
« on: July 19, 2018, 11:17:05 AM »
Realisation that I have so much sewing to do so I think it's time I get on with this as it's probably the most important thing I have coming up (SWAKOP and my own outfit can be held).

I am making a flowergirl dress for a 1 year old for a wedding on the 6th October.

Pattern(s): Elinor and Ruffle Diaper Cover

Fabrics: Burgundy cotton velvet for the dress, oyster-coloured raw silk/cotton for lining and knickers.

Edits to pattern: I am going to fully line the dress as the pattern is only lined on the bodice. I am going to add a little ruffle round the bottom of the skirt too as I think that will be nice to add some fullness. Baby will be 1 year old come the wedding day and will probably walk the aisle but will be carried/crawling a lot too I imagine so hence my suggestion for little knickers so if she's playing about she still looks formally dressed with no nappy on show  <3

I'm also going to be making a toy Velveteen Rabbit as a keepsake for the day that she can enjoy when she is older (I still have the ragdoll made for me from my Auntie's wedding, I was 3 so I don't remember the day but I remember the doll!)

I've just printed out the patterns to take home today. Off away this weekend but they'll all me put in a project bag ready to go next week! Need to order fabric for the wearable toile...

crafter

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2018, 13:34:05 PM »
Lovely, wish I had a baby girl to sew for.  Maybe one day soon.

ambro0

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #2 on: July 20, 2018, 00:30:43 AM »
@Francesca

Ooh!! That outfit will be gorgeous!!

I too wish that I had a little girl to sew for. We had three sons and now our eldest is to become a father in September and I've got my fingers crossed for a grand-daughter. Maybe I can start looking at patterns for little girls; it can't hurt surely?
Annette

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Francesca

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #3 on: July 26, 2018, 17:32:57 PM »
Nearly finished the toile. A very quick throw together to test construction and fit.

Of course, stupid Etsy patterns with no proper instructions drive me mad. It states at one point to "overlap the back pieces and sew". No explanation of how much to overlap, and no markings on the pattern to show this. Ugh. I've had to email the designer to ask. It annoys me so much!

Otherwise it's an absolutely adorable dress and I think it's going to look fantastic properly completed.

I definitely want to draft neckline and armhole facings as the lining does peek over and I want it to look perfect. Of course for something this tiny size I do think it'd be better to just do an all-in-one which is effectively what the current lining pieces are now. And then I will extend the lining so it's a full skirt and attach a little ruffle round the bottom. It's going to be lovely!

Bride has also given me her old bridesmaid dress and I think I might be able to cut the collar with some embroidery but it won't be perfectly laid out on the collar... but it should be close enough.

Francesca

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #4 on: July 26, 2018, 17:49:27 PM »
OK, now I'm incredibly frustrated after trying to figure this out... and at a loss for what to do.

The instructions simply to "overlap" with no indication of how to achieve that... by what measure or anything... pathetic. I've contacted the seller and honestly unless they come up with some amazing, perfect way of achieving this I will be asking for a refund. It's so poorly done!

Secondly, I still need to continue with this style but I need to find a better way to construct the back opening for the real thing so I think I will have to somehow redraft the back part of the dress (hence asking for a refund...) I simply refuse to have an off-centre back seam that seems absolutely ridiculous especially on a dress for a wedding. It's not happening.

What would you think would be the best way to do this? The dress is currently button-closed but I'm thinking swapping it out for an invisible zip would be best? The pattern wants you to overlap one back over one front and then hap-hazardly stitch it down off centre which I won't do. So I was thinking once I find out the overlap amount, I can remove that from the back "seam" of the pattern, then simply swap it for a zip.

Shame as I thought the button back opening was cute but it needs to be properly centred not just thrown willy-nilly one side over the other and stitch it down best you can... that's not why I make clothes.

DementedFairy

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #5 on: July 26, 2018, 18:20:04 PM »
Blimey Fran how to make life hard for yourself lol

Off centre on the back of  a 1-yr old's dress?  Worn once?  Breathe girl, breathe.  The links don't work so I can't tell what it's supposed to look like though.  I wouldn't bother with a zip, just leave it open [keyhole] and put one button at neckline so it's quick and easy to get on and off.  Little kids have fat neck backs, a zip pull can dig in a lot
C'est moi!

Francesca

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #6 on: July 26, 2018, 18:27:47 PM »
I'm too much of a perfectionist! I just hate the way this is finished. No nice crisp centre back seam. It wants you to effectively overlap two pieces and just sew it down and hope for the best. There is a possibility that the raw edge could unfurl and be revealed and I'd hate to see a lovely little flowergirl walking down the aisle with a raw back seam exposed.

If I left it keyhole it'd have to be undone all the way from the lower back to the top though, almost half the dress. I think that will look even worse.

I guess I'm going to have to draft some sort of placket?

Francesca

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #7 on: July 26, 2018, 18:32:58 PM »
This is what the back of the dress is supposed to look like. Looks quite nice. What they cleverly omit from the picture is that there is no proper seam sewn below that bartack. You fold the seam allowance (which is only a centimetre) over on one piece, do the overlap (still no idea how much overlap) and then you stitch, off centre, the 1cm seam allowance down the back until you get to that bartack bit. So there is no raw edge to raw edge seam. It's just a 1cm fold sewn off centre on top of another. My fear is if it isn't perfectly sewn (on that tiny seam allowance) then you might get the seam allowance unfolding a bit and showing raw edge. I don't understand why it's so poorly done. Dress seemed pretty nice up until now, though the instructions are pretty bad.

I want to be able to sew a proper back seam with the raw edges together, not just overlapped and stitched down. I don't want a "topstitchy" type look down the back. It'll look worse in the velvet where it'll be even more obvious.

DementedFairy

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #8 on: July 26, 2018, 18:35:43 PM »
Why would you need to leave so much open?You only need enough so that it will go over her head...

Kids clothes are simple, and the construction is best kept simple too-it's amazing how quickly bulk will build up on a teeny garment.  A little opening, bind all the neckline and make a ribbon loop.  The amount of seam/overlap is undoubtedly not crucial...it's a pretty unfitted shape I think?
C'est moi!

DementedFairy

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #9 on: July 26, 2018, 18:37:36 PM »
The picture helped!  I would just leave a couple of inches open at the top, sew a normal seam to that point, and just have one button at the neck.  It looks rather bulky as it is anyway
C'est moi!

Francesca

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #10 on: July 26, 2018, 18:42:46 PM »
Because the top part of the dress is already 'finished' in that it is lined, and the lining is fully stitched in to the mid back, so it'd need to be opened from there.

It's impossible for me to simply put the raw edge to raw edge and sew a proper centre back seam at this stage. For starters, it would make too wide a garment (the garment is designed with the overlap built in, so I need the bloody designer to tell me what the overlap actually is so I can work out what to remove), but secondly because the seam allowance is already folded away and hidden in the lining for the top part of the dress, I eventually get to a point where I can't put the raw edges together any more when they meet the lining.

So I'm thinking essentially I'm going to have to redraft the whole centre back seam and only sew the lining down the back an inch or so (leave a keyhole opening as mentioned) and do a proper centre back seam. That's why I thought zip. But if I can't use a zip for a baby dress... then I guess some sort of zip guard on the inside so it doesn't rub would be easiest? Easier than trying to work out how to actually draft the back seam properly for a placket (like the designer couldn't be bothered to do, obviously).

Francesca

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #11 on: July 26, 2018, 18:50:38 PM »
Another alternative, buttons all the way down the back? That seems laborious though. And I'd still need to correct it so when it overlaps, it overlaps with the seam centrally, not off.

I'm thinking placket to protect from zip is probably the easiest. I can't think how to do an overlapping placket where the seam is centralised. And I refuse to topstitch down a back opening to the hem. I've just pinned it out as per the instructions (with a total guesstimate of overlap distance) and it looks completely stupid, and that's before I've topstitched it.

DementedFairy

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #12 on: July 26, 2018, 18:55:16 PM »
Make a proper buttonhole band instead of just a fold under.  CB should be middle of the button band, although honestly, you'd be the only person who'd give a toss!
With frilly knicks underneath, it used to be the norm to have it button just past the waistline, so the knicks get flashed on purpose
C'est moi!

Francesca

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2018, 18:57:38 PM »
Looking at pictures it seems most have "inset" button bands rather than just folded over. I could just about handle the offset seam if it was actually a seam... but I just feel like folding over a seam allowance and topstitching it onto another piece of fabric isn't a proper "seam". I can handle one small mess, but not too small messes together (off centre AND not a proper seam).

So maybe drafting some sort of inset placket is the way to go?

CB being middle of the button band seems fine when it's inset. But when that also means the rest of the seam is off centre too it seems odd. And then on top of that, it not even being a nicely sewn seam with raw edges together, just seems so messy.

I tested it out on my gingham fabric and it looked terrible, let alone what it would look like on non-patterned velvet.
« Last Edit: July 26, 2018, 18:59:09 PM by Francesca »

Francesca

Re: Flower Girl dress
« Reply #14 on: July 26, 2018, 19:02:25 PM »
This dress, for example, has an off-centre CB seam (ugh but fine) but the seam is properly sewn below the button band rather than top-stitched. How is that achieved I wonder?