Sewing for my Granddaughter and more

By Anna - November 24, 2020

My daughter approached me about sewing matching dresses for my granddaughter and her best friend as a Christmas present. In addition, she wanted a matching dress for each of their American Girl dolls. At first I was hesitant as I had already planned to sew the same style dress as a gift from me so I wasn't sure I wanted to commit to doing it, but in the end I give in deciding that she could always use an extra dress and this would be special since her best friend would have one that matched.

The pattern I was using I had sewn for her a couple times last year and she loves it because it has pockets and I love it because of its simplicity. The sleeves are included in the bodice so you don't have to add sleeves. There are only 3 pieces to cut out: front, back and pockets. However, there is another option to the dress that includes doing the bodice in one color and the skirt in another, so if you do that version there would be 5 pieces. The dress is designed to be cut from knit fabric. I sent my daughter about 20 different choices of fabrics that I was willing to sew and she picked the color she wanted. I made these dresses by taking the girls measurements and determining what size to cut the pattern from. The pattern is from Annelaine Patterns called Clementine and can be purchased online. (I don't get any kickbacks from this company and just sharing because it is a fun and easy pattern to sew and comes in many sizes). My granddaughter had gone from needing a size 7 to a size 10. I was able to use the size 7 from last year for the best friend. I ordered extra fabric just in case and ended up using it to make another dress for my other granddaughter in a size 4.

The pattern for the dolls is only 2 pieces, front and back. Once you cut out the pattern, sew the shoulders together, then the side seams. All that's left is folding in the neckline and hem and sew. I done these in a zig zag stitch for the doll dresses.