Butterick 2194 children's dress

Hi! My name is Rhelynn, and this the first time I've posted to Sew Retro! I have been sewing most of my life but only began making clothes once my daughter was born. I bought a Singer Advanced when she was five months old, and give it a workout several times a week. All of my daughter's clothing is handmade, mostly from vintage patterns. It is hard to keep up with her rapid growth and a learning curve! She is a happy model and very opinionated about what 'Mumum' makes for her. I have made a few vintage things for myself, as well, and continue to improve. I've loved following along and have taken a lot of inspiration from all of your wonderful blogs and projects!


This is Butterick 2194, size 2, undated but circa 1960

I needed, and thought I was working with, a size 3! But, Butterick patterns allow a 5/8 seam allowance. I compared this size 2 to a similar modern size 3 and found that with a 1/4 inch seam allowance they were nearly the same size. I was going to make view 'B', the girl in the blue dress. Then my daughter steered me towards this cow print fabric instead of the blue fabric. She said 'yuck' to the blue and 'kiss' to the cows. So - cow dress it was. The cow print is definitely not 'vintage' - but I hope that's ok with you!

The trickiest part was gathering the side skirt to a flat front bodice, and putting in the tie belts between the bodice parts before attaching the skirt.

Finished and on!

I might make it for her again, but cut the neckline deeper on the second try!

a few more pictures in the blog post on the project
Come visit us at KnitOwl blog :)