The Girls Easter Dresses from Sense & Sensibility Patterns

Back in March when Covid-19 caused the schools to shutter almost overnight and we were all suddenly home for what we thought would just be a precautionary 3 week period I went out and stocked up on my pantry staples and a few weeks worth of meat and, also, some fabric. I thought Easter dresses would be a nice project to work on during those few weeks and help me focus on something other than the news.

I even bought some fabric for a regency dress for myself, and purchased, downloaded, printed and taped together the ladies regency dress pattern from Sense and Sensibility. I did not, however, end up making that one. I did make the girls their dresses, though, and they came out as lovely as always - this pattern produces one heck of an adorable mini regency dress! I have loved the results every time I've used it - many, many times over the years.

Easter has long since come and gone and it's time I properly blogged about these. I don't know when or if the girls will have a chance to wear these to a history event so for now they are everyday play dresses.

These are made almost as-is from the pattern. According to the size chart, Anne fell at size 8 and Rose at size 4 so I traced and cut both sizes. I decided to add some front gathering for the front bodices so placed the pattern piece a little bit away from the folded edge and for some extra width in the outer fabric layer. The lining was cut to be fitted, and the outer layer gathered down and attached to the lining. I did shorten the waistline on Rose's size 4 dress to achieve the proper high waisted look.

I lined the bodices fully with white cotton and added a built-in petticoat to the skirt portion, since the less layers a little girl needs to fuss with the better! (goes for adult people too. . .at least me. . .) These were mostly sewn on the machine with all visible stitching done by hand, just in case we ever use these for any reenactment type events. I did the hand stitching while watching a few episodes of Anne of Green Gables on Netflix (loved it!) and the evening before Easter, the dresses were finally done.

Half way through making these Anne declared she hated her dress. The reason? The particular hue of yellow. I had not taken her with me when I purchased the fabric impulsively from Wal-Mart during that just-before-lock-down shopping trip and she is very particular about her clothes right now. While Rosie loved her pink cotton, Anne didn't like the  yellow. But she did agree to wear the dress for Easter, for at least a little while, and once she got it filthy in the mud puddles she was quite happy with it!

It did take oxiclean to get those dresses clean but I feel that they were properly broken in and now can be worn for anything and anywhere. I used to be paranoid about the boys getting their reenacting clothes dirty when they were little. I spent so much time making their little outfits and stressed so much when they got them dirty! It's so much more freeing to be able to go with the flow and realize that some faded mud stains at the hem or mended areas just add to the awesome unique qualities of any homemade garment. Lived in clothes are so much more meaningful than pretty, perfect clothes! 😊 When I go through the kids clothes at the end of each season and decide what to keep and what to get rid of the clothes that hold the most memories are the ratty t-shirts the boys have worn to death all summer, or the much-patched rainbow leggings that were Anne's very favorite thing to wear, or the baseball jerseys that never quite came clean from the mud that night the boys played their game in the rain, or the shorts and shirts covered in paint splatters from David's many, many afternoons of sitting down with his paints and a fresh canvas.

I have lost all motivation and desire to make my own regency dress, because I probably honestly will never wear it. So I have 5 yards of a pretty white and grey cotton to decide what to do with. 😂 It's a hugely impractical color and print so who knows. I'll keep it in my stash. Thank God for the stash though. EVERYWHERE IS OUT OF FABRIC.

Much love,

Sarah