In December Rebecca Page released the free Patsy Party dress. At first I was going to sew up the ladies’ version of the pattern for myself even though I wasn’t sure where I was going to wear it. I wasn’t too worried about sewing it as I trust Rebecca’s instructions completely and thought it would be a fun outfit to construct. Then I started thinking about sourcing the materials since if I was going to sew it and store it, I wanted to make it the best it could be (including the optional boning, interlining, and horsehair braid). I didn’t want to make it and regret leaving any options out… and then started thinking about where I was going to store the finished dress… so I figured it was better to wait until I had a reason to sew it and can justify storing the finished garment. I decided to sew up the Patsy dress for the kids so I’d still be able sew up a version of it. I love how it turned out!

For my girls I used the free Patsy Party dress through Rebecca Page. You can also buy the add-on if you want to include a shrug at the top or change the default skirt to a high low skirt, pleated pencil skirt, jumpsuit, or fishtail skirt. For your convenience here’s the links:

• Patsy Party Dress – Newborn to 12 years
• Patsy Party Dress – Ladies XXS to 5XL
• Patsy Party Dress – Bundle of both the ladies and child’s
• Patsy Party Dress Add On – Newborn to 12 years
• Patsy Party Dress Add On – Ladies XXS to 5XL
• Patsy Party Dress Add On – Bundle of both the ladies and child’s add on

For the main fabric I went to JOANN’s fabrics, after confirming there was a sale on the fabric I was planning, and released both kids to browse the novelty 100% cotton aisle.  I loved watching them shop. Zoey kept choosing a bolt, I confirmed it with her and loaded it into the cart, and then she’d find another one which we’d swap out with the previous bolt in the cart, and repeated again and again. Ada took her time looking at all of the bolts of fabric and then made her final decision. I got Ada to confirm her cut-on dinos on black and Zoey to agree on her final pick of pink glitter mermaid scales (for the sparkly-ness) and we headed to the cutting table. For the bodice lining I used black 100% cotton fabric I bought earlier that month from Fabric.com. You’ll also need elastic for the back of the dress if you’re sewing up the kids while the ladies has an invisible zipper instead.

Patsy Party Dresses

I love how large the skirts (perfect for twirling). The bodice of the dress is completely lined so all the seams are hidden within. The skirt is put together with french seams and is attached to the bodice in a way to hide the seams there too. The longest step in the process was adding the elastic to the back, hand stitching the bodice liner down, and hemming such an amazing skirt. The instructions walk you through each and every step so it is simple to follow along and make an heirloom quality dress for your child.

Then I wrapped the dresses, crossed my fingers they fit, and waited until they opened them on Christmas day to try them on.

Sparkly Scaled Patsy Party Dress

Dinosaur Patsy Party Dress

Shortening the Straps

Since I didn’t want to try the dresses on the girls ahead of time I attached the straps as the instructions said without shortening them first. The kids had measured into one size of the dress and then were one or two sizes larger for the length of the dress so I had cut the straps out at the larger measurement just in case. I ended up checking how much shorter the straps needed to be while the kids were wearing the dresses and recorded the measurement difference to shorten the straps later. I ended up folding the strap down inside the back of the bodice and sewed these folded over strap into place in the hopes that over time I can just seam rip the stitches to extend the straps later so they are wearable for longer.

I love these dresses and love how they’re so gorgeously put together. I’ve already started planning another version for both girls and have already cut out the fabric. If you’re interested in the version I made you can get it for free through the Patsy Party Dress bundle or if you want to include a shrug at the top or change the default skirt to a high low skirt, pleated pencil skirt, jumpsuit, or fishtail skirt can purchase the Patsy Party Dress Add On.

I’d love to hear from you whether you make the Patsy for yourself or someone else. Feel free to share your creation in the comments below, on my Facebook page, or through Instagram. I love seeing all the different styles you can make with a single pattern… and then there’s the add on that I’ll eventually break into too. Hope you’re having a great week.