Dress Refashion, Making A Cute Kids Dress 

Cute dress for your daughter - the buttons just give it that little something extra. Myosotis dress re-make idea: can you convert it to a Mave skirt (cut it to the length you want, preserving the existing gathered lower edge with ruffle, and create a waistband from the off-cuts or top section)? Pretty fabric for summer.

Love that pattern and can see my granddaughter in it 😍 A fab remake 👌

That little dress is the sweetest thing and I am confident Mia will like it. I started having a fusspot with my eldest daughter after I made a School Photo dress by Oliver and s for her in denim and I had smocked the front yoke. It was SO beautiful but she hated it. She was 8 at the time and I was devastated. So what I did was take her shopping online and in person and we looked at all things SHE liked. That strategy worked so well. She is now turning 22 in October and still gets me to make her clothes (even though she hasn't asked lately). I used this strategy with my son who is turning 19 in July and my youngest daughter who is 9. She is very outspoken with regards to what she likes. She's getting more particular about colour so we have put together a bit of capsule wardrobe. I show her the line drawings of patterns aswell as the photos so that she can see what the elements of the pattern details. We also go shopping online and in store to see what is there and available. They get very very conscious of being different so working to what is trending helps. It doesn't get harder as they get into the teen years, in fact I had my children's friends and their parents all amazed that I made such great clothes and how professional they looked, especially when you go and colour block t shirts for your teen son and don't have to pay $50 a shirt to do so. I felt that it was important for my children to know that there is a way to have well fitting beautifully made clothes because I am no midget - my surgeon who did my recent hip replacement told me my femoral head (the bone they removed) was 20mm larger than the average female's so I am certainly an Amazonian viking and my children of course take after me. Being tall is hard enough but to be on the bigger side for your age makes things really hard and absolutely plays with the self esteem early on. I'm seeing that with my nine year old. I see sewing for her as a form of protecting her from societal expectations on how someone should look when she doesn't get the choice in what her stature and physique turns out to be due to genetics. Sewing has actually helped some of her friends see that they too can have lovely things - to the point where I have a group of 9 year old girls in my little town all wanting to learn to sew because of it. I think it's great so I really hope that Mia sees the benefit that her mum can make pretty things for her to wear in the way that she likes because you get to do that for yourself.

I would make a woven tank for yourself out of that blue tile fabric

Hi Hayley. I love what you did with the double gauze fabric for your daughter -- the dress is adorable and it will be so comfortable to wear for a sensitive little person (I hope she fell in love with it). My first thought on the myosotis dress was to put stretch lace along the neckline to bring it in a bit (sort of like a big knit neck band), then use the stretch lace to fashion a sleeve extension. You could even add a decorative stretch lace band to the waistline or hemline to pull it all together if the other two elements don't seem integrated enough into the dress design concept. That blue and white tile print is perfect for a summer dress that will swish in the breeze. I'm imagining you swishing down a boardwalk near the sea or a lake or other body of water, Antonia

It is stunning! I'm so glad Mia loves it. 🤩

Love the dress it's just gorgeous. I hope Mia loves it. Will there be enough fabric for cut offs with the ruffle as a sort of yoke/waistband. Is it te Emerson trousers that are like that? I love seeing you sewing. Enjoy the sunshine. Thank you😊

Such a lovely dress! I hope it finds a loving recipient! ❤

Can’t believe your daughter is six already.

I was picky as a child. I didn’t like anything itchy or restrictive. My mom was really great about finding me clothing I would wear. I have a TATB Lyra dress that has come undone/ frayed at the button placket. I only wore it once and it happened in the wash. I unpicked it and was ready to repair it and it is all stretched out now. Any ideas on how I can repair it? I have some extra fabric that I could redo the front bodice and placket, but I don’t love the shirt dress style honestly. I French seamed the entire dress. The color is not my best but the fabric is so colorful it is fine. Any help is appreciated so I can upcycle it to something I can wear. Maybe another bodice like the Indigo and use the same sleeves? I can use the back still and just cut a front. Unpicking may cause the fabric to stretch. I am not sure if there is a way still to reinforce the placket and repair it. Oh my, this will take a long time. It’s in the naughty corner for now. Love this series!

That little dress is so sweet.. Good luck

The dress for your daughter is beautiful.. I think you could make a donny shirt from your dress fabric it would look lovely to go with jeans 😊

Such a lovely dress. You'll have to update us if your daughter loved it or not. Did Mum magic work?😊 Love the tile viscose. How about a Donny shirt? Would look super lovely with a skirt for summer or trousers. I think you'd have enough fabric there.

Who knows what small children will wear? My granddaughter who is now 8 has just been through a phase of wearing pink and mustard together! Definitely not my colours. That little dress is gorgeous.

I' with you on facings, follow all instructions and have the same problems 😡❤