Christmas Dresses S&S 1958 Girls' Party dress

Each year I like to make Olivia a Christmas dress.  This year, I used the recently released, 1958 Girls' Party Dress pattern. This year I made three Christmas dresses.  Two were for a couple of young girls I have never met, but wanted them to know, especially their mum, they are being thought of during this difficult time.

I am going to share the "sisters' dresses", first, and Olivia's next time.

These two dresses were made with a burgundy, cotton velvet.  This fabric is very soft and the pile is long.  Because the fabric is thick, I chose not to use the full width of the skirt pattern.  What I did was use two widths of the front skirt, cutting up the center of one, making room for the invisible zipper to be placed in the back.  Instead of pleating the skirt, I gathered the skirt.

I shortened the bodice length by 5/8", giving a little more of a higher waist, allowing to fit the child a little longer. I also changed the neckline of the bodice to more of a jewel neckline.  The bodices were lined with cotton batiste, the skirts were left unlined.

The sashes were made with silk dupioni.  I added thread loops so the sashes had a chance of staying in place and not falling off the girls.  My hope is that the dresses fit and that mum knew she was being thought of and prayed for in her time of need.  If these children are brought to mind for you, please pray for their family, thank you.

The Lovely bonnet and the beautiful corsage were made by the talented Dawn Luckham, you can see some of her work HERE, scroll down to see bonnets, but look at all the other lovely items she creates.  Don't forget to click on the 'behind the cut' to get more pictures. :)

Thanks for stopping by...

Carol