The Darby Dress

This post is part of a month long series called 'Pattern Makeover Month.' I took a simple pattern (The Sweet Dress by Leila and Ben) and 'made-it-over' into many different styles. For more information, go here.

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Headed to the County Fair. . .

Cut the dress top using the dress pattern. Cut several inches below the underarm seam line and add about 1/2 inch to the neckline. For the neck sash, you will need one strip measuring 4.5 inches by 45 inches. For the skirt, you will need LOTS and LOTS of squares. For my ~almost~ two year old, I used 4 inch squares-- 82 of them. For a size 5T I would probably use 6 inch squares (55 total squares). For the in between sizes, you will have to do some math.

Length from couple inches underarm to hem, divide that by 4. Add 1/2 inch for seam allowance. That number will be the square size.

To find the number of squares you need for each tier, use the following:

Tier 1- 40 inches/square size = number of squares needed
Tier 2- 60 inches/square size = number of squares
Tier 3- 90 inches/square size
Tier 4- 120 inches/square size

Whew! That was a lot of math for one tutorial.

Okay, back to the sewing part. To make the sash, iron all four edges in by 1/4 inch. Fold in half, wrong sides together and iron. Topstitch around the sash.

For the top of the dress, sew the two sideseams. Iron the armholes in 1/4 inch and then another 1/4 inch making a rolled hem edge. Iron the neckline down 1/2 inch and then another 1 inch. Stitch your rolled hem edge on the armholes, then stitch at the bottom of your neckline casing.

To make the skirt, begin stitching the squares together. Use the measurements you found in the math portion to make the length of the tiers. (For example, on the 12M/2T size I made, I used 31 squares for the bottom tier, 24, 16 and 11 for the top tier.) Sew them into one long strip for each tier. Finish the bottom edge of the bottom tier with a rolled hem. Then gather the top of the tier to match the bottom of the third tier. Stitch together and finish your seam. Continue adding the tiers up to the top tier. Then stitch the skirt together in a circle, matching your seams as you go. Gather the top of the skirt piece and attach to the top of your dress.

After all that math,

I am in the mood for a corn dog and some cotton candy.

How about you?