T-Shirt Dresses

These were a lot of fun to make and are really so simple that they seem hardly worth blogging about, but the pictures of Rosie are so cute that it makes a blog post worth it!

One of our yellow tomatoes! She loves going to the garden each day to check for new ripe ones. 

Last  year I made myself a swing dress for Christmas out of some nice pink knit fabric. It's been an absolute staple for me ever since - I made mine to just above knee length with 3/4 length sleeves so it's honestly been an every season dress. I wore it a lot this summer just because it was light and breezy, even on hot days. I have come to really like this style and it seemed perfect for the knits Rose picked out. 

For my own dress I adapted the women's Plantain T-Shirt Pattern by extending the side seams and swinging them out, to create extra fullness below the bustline flaring to the hem. I did the same with Rose's dress, using the free T-Shirt Pattern for Girls by Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mommy. I can not say enough good about this girls t shirt pattern. It is SO great. The sizing is good, the fit is exactly what I was looking for and it's FREE. And so easy and quick to sew. Each of Rose's dresses took me less than an hour. I made Rose's dresses about knee length so she can wear them with and without leggings underneath. 

For each dress I made a pair of matching leggings from a modern pattern I have on hand. She can mix and match the leggings with these t shirt dresses as well as the cotton ones I made earlier this month. 

The polka dot is a bit heavier and was a dream to sew. However I did experience problems hemming  the dress - I really need to get a double needle so I can make a pretty hem on knits. After a few different tries at hemming I ended up cutting a band and finishing the hem with that. It makes the hem awfully stiff, but that's ok. It just makes the dress more A-line in shape! The leggings were the 2nd pair I made, and I took in the pattern a bit to make the legs tighter. The blue leggings came out a bit loose (but still wearable). 

I had a more difficult time with hems on the blue fabric so I tried a method I've always been curious about - the lettuce edge! This turned out to be perfect for this fabric and I will definitely use it again. It's achieved by stretching the hem as much as possible as you sew over it with a very narrow, very closely spaced zig-zag stitch. 

It was a lot of fun making these for Rose and it got me back in the mood to sew, somewhat. I've begun a few projects for others and have a few more planned for us, including, of course, Halloween costumes! 

Rose wearing her polka dot leggings with her purple dress earlier this week.

Much love,

Sarah