The Angelic Gown and the Sewing for Children Contest

I’m entering the Christening gown that I made for my baby niece into Pattern Review’s Sewing for Children contest.  I unfortunately don’t have a photo of my niece in the gown since she’s not being Christened until September and the contest ends this month.  But, I’m not sure if I’d feel comfortable posting a photo of her on the internet even if I had one.  Instead, I made a little montage of the dress with its many details highlighted.

And, here is my review of McCall’s M4865:

I began cutting and sewing this dress on July 11th.  I used a gorgeous polka dotted white cotton and Mokuba white lace, which added a lot to the character and quality of the dress.  I love the texture that the polka dots give to the dress.

I found the pattern easy to follow, though it did take me forever to figure out how to put in the lapped seam, which allows the opening at the back of the bodice continue down into the dress.  I made a few changes to the pattern due to fabric restrictions (you can make the dress from a yard and a quarter if you need!), mainly cutting the dress pieces a wee bit narrower and adding a center back seam.  I also enclosed the sleeve seam allowances by slip stitching the bodice lining in place with the seam allowances sandwiched between the bodice and lining pieces instead of machine stitching it according to the pattern directions.  I would also note that adding French seams to the dress is an easy way to dress up the inside so that it matches the beauty of the outside.  Finally, to help keep the pin tucks even and straight all the way across, I’d measure and mark them all carefully before you begin stitching.  I didn’t and ended up unpicking then restitching the lowest because it had gotten all kinds of crooked.

I would very highly recommend this pattern for an infant’s special occasion dress.  Don’t pass it up because it’s so long.  It could easily be shortened if the event didn’t call for 35″ of dress.