bubble dress (butterick 4176)

Sometimes when I sew, I need an ego boost, so I like to finish a project in just a few hours. That's what this pattern was for me when I bought it.

Just before making it, Sarah and I were talking one day, and she said, "I saw (insert cute friend's name here)'s girls wearing the cutest bubble dresses at church on Sunday!" The wheels in my head started turning, and I decided to make this dress with a bubble hem:

I wanted to make this view without the sleeves, so I cut out a lining in my daughter's size (size 2.)

Next, I cut out my main fabric, which was a silky print from JoAnn's, from this view, except I cut the hem line all the way to a size 5, and widened the skirt area by about 20 inches.

After sewing the side seams together, I ran a gathering stitch around the hemline of my main fabric and sewed it to the lining right sides together, gathering the main fabric to fit.

I then made the rest of the dress as the directions said.

Just like any dress for a little girl, the most important quality is that it makes her feel like a million bucks, which this does for Rora!


I love the three-button detail on the front:

I also like the simple one-button back closure:

And the final perk to this little dress is that I can add a cute colored ribbon around her waist or an adorable sweater to change up the look a little bit.

This pattern gets two thumbs WAY up!