Let Them Be Little Dress

DIY, Sewing

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Does anyone else feel like their kids’ childhood is just speeding by way too fast? Me too! This new fabric line from Simple Simon and Co reminds us to savor the little moments while our children are small and to let them be little, for just a while longer! Read on for details of the DIY girls dress I created with some of this darling fabric and why quilting cotton is some of the best fabric for dresses!

Being a sewing blogger is pretty awesome, especially when you make friends with other amazingly talented people! The ladies over at Simple Simon and Co are two of the sweetest people in the business, and ridiculously talented to boot! Their new fabric line is out and I am just smitten with all the adorable prints and gorgeous colors.

They named their line “Let Them Be Little” which I think is perfect, because I’m starting to realize just how fast my littles are growing up. Did you hear the news about the new teenager I have in my house now?? *GASP*

I wanted to make a dress for Juliet with this fabric because she’s right at that in-between age (9) where she’s growing out of childhood toys and activities but not quite a preteen yet. I love this stage! She’s still so innocent but is old enough to really connect with me on a more grown up level. Sadly, it’s been almost impossible to find cute, age-appropriate dresses for her anywhere right now. All the size 10 RTW dresses are made out of flimsy polyesters and show lots of shoulder or too much leg for my comfort level.

It just makes me sad that clothing manufacturers are trying to get our little girls to grow up so darn fast! I really enjoy using quilting cottons and think they’re some of the best fabric for dresses, especially if you’re a beginning seamstress. It sews up easily, presses like a dream and wears so well. My baby is still wearing cotton dresses I made for Juliet 8+ years ago (and they’ve gone through 3 other sisters too!).



I used Sew Much Ado’s Sullivan Dress as a pattern and I think it’s just the cutest design ever! It’s been a long time since I’ve used anything but a variation of my Infinite A-line DressΒ for one of my girls, but I figured it was time to branch out. I ordered 1 yard of the Lumberjack Plaid in Black for the skirt, and then used 1/2 yard each of the Fruit in Blue for the bodice and the Crown print in Red for the bodice lining and pockets.

I just LOVE how all the prints mix and match, and this sort of “extra” pattern mixing is just my cup of tea πŸ™‚ Thankfully Juliet loves it too. And how about that striped button? Just the icing on the cake!

The pockets aren’t a part of the original pattern but I knew that I wanted that Crown print fabric to be more visible and tie together all the prints. So I roughly traced the tulip shape of the sleeve into a pocket, cut out 4 of them, and then sewed 2 pairs right sides together, leaving a little portion at the bottom open to turn.

Once I turned them right sides out, I used my small offset spatula to stick inside the pocket and help with pressing the curved edges. Have you ever used this trick before?? It’s my new favorite way to press difficult curves and it worked perfectly for those scallops on the bodice too!



Lastly, the only part of the pattern instructions that I didn’t follow was to sew the lining and bodice so that the right side of the lining faces out instead of in. The pattern has you do this so that when you see little peeks of the lining fabric under those scallops, you see the right side of the fabric instead of the wrong. Well this fabric was just so cute, I couldn’t bear for Juliet not see the right side when she was slipping it on!

So I sewed it in the traditional way (with lining and bodice right sides together) and I like the final result just fine! In the future, I’ll definitely follow the pattern’s advice to use a lining fabric without a noticeable right and wrong side.

And that’s it! What do you think of this cute little dress and Simple Simon & Co’s darling new fabric line? I’m already dreaming up a cute boy quilt to make with it next!


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3 Comments

  • Reply
    Let Them Be Little Sullivan Dress – Riley Blake Designs
    September 13, 2018 at 11:57 am

    […] stop on the Let Them Be Little Blog Tour takes us to BONNIE & BLITHE, where Bonnie is sharing pics of this adorable Sullivan dress made with Simple Simon & […]

  • Reply
    Abby
    September 13, 2018 at 2:46 pm

    It turned out so adorable, Bonnie! You definitely did the right thing showing that adorable lining!!

    • Reply
      Bonnie
      September 13, 2018 at 3:35 pm

      Thanks Abby! Glad you approve πŸ˜‰

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