The Sally Dress: Fall Style

I was thrilled to see luvinthemommyhood’s Sally Dress in the sew fab bundle!  This dress was one of the main reasons why I purchased the bundle myself, and the first thing on my list of what to sew from that bundle.  Well, tied with the bimaa sweater cowl, which I see popping up everywhere!  My pattern is ready to sew up, but I promised myself I would not sew when Ruby is awake—they are only little for so long!  So after Ruby was asleep last night, I sewed this Sally Dress and I’m completely in love with it!
This point on the shoulder seam—this is my most favorite detail on the whole dress.  LOVE it.

You can see here that the pockets are Bailey’s favorite part.  She’s in love with them.

She at first didn’t want me to sew this into a dress, but wanted me to make it into a top for her, without the pockets.  But I ignored this because really, what girl couldn’t use giant pockets on their dress?

Bailey’s chest measurement is 21”.  Not the norm for most 5 year olds, but according to that measurement and the pattern’s recommendations, she should have been a 2T.  That made me nervous to go with such a small size, so I cut out the bodice in a 3T and the pockets/skirt in the 5T.  I basted the bodice pieces together before committing to that size, and made her get out of bed to try it on before proceeding with the rest of the dress.  It was just a tad tight-ish for her getting it on, so I used 1/4” seams on the bodice sleeves and side seams.  Along the neckline I still used the 1/2” seam used in the pattern.

She can get it on without much wiggling—and without any assistance to me and ALSO without any stitches breaking while she did it.  It probably won’t fit her next fall, but that’s ok.  Sometimes it’s super gratifying to have something fit perfectly rather than waiting to grow into it.

I just barely changed the sleeves to taper a little bit more at the hem—I think I took about a 1/4” off the pattern piece, so 1/2” total.

I mean seriously!?  I adore this dress.

Once she had it on I clapped and exclaimed how much I loved it and Bailey twirled and danced, saying she loved it too.  Then she ran up to look in the mirror and demanded stuffed animals for the pockets.

Now let’s talk about how darn professional the pattern is!  The pattern is awesome.  Very detailed, and it produces such a beautiful garment not only outside, but the inside as well.  I also love that she throws in things like, “let’s gather up that pretty skirt” or something to that effect.  It’s fun to not have you feel like a real person made the pattern as you read it.


So a great many pictures for a great dress.  Hoping to have more things to show you from The Sew Fab Patterns this week!  I mean seriously, you cannot beat $1.15 per pattern, for 26 of them!
pattern: The Sally Dress brown corduroy: Joann bird/triangle fabric: Joann (clearance for $2.00/yard) pocket fabric: Amy Butler boots: Target