Flower power dress for my daughter

I met the people of Zicca fabrics at Ommel festival and they gave me a piece of this Flowerpower denim look sweatshirting. I asked S what she wanted me to make out of it. First, she suggested a pair of culottes but then changed her mind and sketched me a picture of a ruffled tunic or a dress. I took a top/dress pattern that I have been developing and turned it into this 70s inspired dress.

The good thing about drafting my own pattern was that I was able to use every single scrap of the fabric. With the limited amount I had, I even unrolled the edges that curved in after the wash!

The hem uses the whole width of the fabric. The cuffs were cut from the little piece I had left after cutting out the other parts. Normally, I make the gathered portions at least twice as long as the final width. Unfortunately, I had just about 10 cm extra fabric left for the cuffs. Therefore, I concentrated the gathers to the middle of the sleeve to make most of what I had.

The fabric worked very nicely for this dress. The pattern is directional but only slightly so. That made it possible to cut some of the pattern pieces in the wrong direction.

I chose the pink ribbing to finish the neckline and used the pink thread to finish the cuffs and the hem.

Due to the short length, S is probably going to wear this with leggings or trousers. For school, the short length is good. All the kids wear an extra pair of outdoor trousers over their indoor clothes. Longer dresses don’t work so well since they are difficult to tuck in and will get very dirty if worn over the trousers.

Thank you for reading and come back soon for more sewing inspiration. Happy sewing!

Katja