E’s first day of first grade is today, so i made her a new dress…yesterday!
first grade already, i can’t believe it. she learned so much “big kid stuff” over the summer (riding a bike! swimming! whistling the imperial march!) and she’s super excited to start a new school year. we were out of town for the long weekend, so i had to choose a quick-yet-satisfying dress to sew for her to wear on her first day. i think i picked a good one.
the pattern is the Joey Dress, a fresh new release by Make it Perfect. it actually comes in adult version as well, and Toni offered me the adult and/or kid version for an informal blog tour. the Joey is just SO perfect for E, i jumped on board.
it’s an adorable design and a simple, fun sew; i read over the instructions for the general idea, then sewed it up under two hours. the only tiny struggle i had was the placement and maintaining the shape of the kangaroo pocket – which was clearly a fabric issue more than a pattern issue. my navy polka dot mystery knit from mill end was a bit thin and the pink was a very stretchy heavier jersey (scraps from this shirt), so it was hard to keep both in line. aside from the pocket topstitching and sleeve-gather basting, i sewed the whole dress with my serger.
my modifications include adding 1/2” strips of interfacing to the shoulder seams, plus adding notches to the pattern at the centers of the waistband, bottom of bodice, top of skirt, and sleeve apex to help me line everything up. i left it unhemmed.
i also monkied with the sizing a bit. E measured a size 3 chest (actually i think she measured a 2 but i went with 3 anyway) but is size 5 or 6 height. i cut a size 3 bodice and sleeves, but lengthened the bodice to a 4. the skirt is also a 3 width but cut to a 5 length. i wish the waistband was a bit more snug on her hips but i think with a wash-and-dry the pink will shrink up a bit more. these photos were taken pretty much right off the machine and that pink is SUPER stretchy without a whole lot of recovery.
i really should make a point of sewing more knit dresses for her – she loves wearing them and i love not having to iron them! she actually thanked me for this dress (without any prompting), told me she loves it when i make dresses for her, and that this is her favorite one i’ve made – this kid sure knows how to lay it on thick, eh? 😉
the Joey comes in “little” (size 0-5) and “big” (size 6-10) ranges and has options for long sleeves, short sleeves, or 3/4 (i went with 3/4 here), plus a cowl or crew neck. loads of potential for fun color blocking and pattern mixing – and it feels like a true “all-seasons” dress design. it’d be so cozy in a thicker knit with tights and a comfy cardigan!
E and her dad were watching “Palisades Park Pet Patrol” (skip to :47 and 2:30 for the good stuff) while i finished sewing, and it put her in a super silly mood. she was sloppily popping her P’s as we walked around the neighborhood looking for a shady spot (cracking herself up all through the photoshoot too). 😛
…oh and i’ll leave you with her classic pose.
happy back to school, everyone!
P.S. i received the Joey pattern in exchange for blogging about it, as i mentioned in the post. my opinions are my own.
skirt as top 
Lovely!
happy first grade, miss E!! hope she has a wonderful day! i love the fabric you chose for this. i’m making one too so it’s great to see it made up all cute! 🙂
Ahhhh, love this dress!! And a new dress is a new dress no matter when it was sewed 😉 Your daughter looks super comfortable in it!!
yay first grade! i hope she has a great day! 🙂 This dress is fantastic!!! And it totally looks right up V’s alley too…
my baby started first grade last week – what a milestone for both of our girls! Sadly, mine did not have a mommy-made first day of school dress. And certainly not one as adorable as this! I’ve been eyeing this dress on the blog tour, as my first grader loves the comfort of knit dresses. Love the fabric combo you chose. And thanks for sharing your pattern modifications – it’s always so helpful to know what changes were helpful. Thanks for sharing Em’s super cute dress and hope she has a wonderful first day!
So cute, love that kangaroo pocket! We are off to second grade tomorrow, we’ve got a very strict uniform so no last minute sewing for me. 😦 I might try to at least make a new pencil case…
super cute dress. though i couldn’t look at it too much as your daugther’s smile with the missing teeth totally stole the show 😉
I love knit dresses for little girls! So cute but also so comfy and easy to play in! So perfect for a first day of school!
Kristin! This dress! Oh this dress! It is amazing! It’s perfection! And happy 1st grade year to your girl! She’s in between Tia and Indigo in age. Let me tell you – it only gets more fun! Indigo is in 2nd grade and Jude in 4th and they are so much fun! I love it.
Cuuute! Happy 1st day, BIG FIRST GRADER! Take care.
Adorable! Such a cute dress and fun photos Kristin! Glad you like the pattern x
Those dots are cute cute cute. No wonder she loves this dress! Hope her first day went well!
hahaha awesome!! And yes, how is she in 1st grade? I couldn’t wrap my head around E being in second today…I even snapped his picture in the morning and yelled “FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE!!!” and Nate had to be like…um, NO, and THEN, even then I showed up at school to pick him up and stood at the 1st grade door for like five minutes before I realized I was in the wrong spot. *Facepalm*
So very cute! Nice job on the dress. It’s clear she loves it 🙂
I love how you can always tell the mood of the photoshoot in the photos. She looks like she loves it! I love sewing knit dresses for the girlstoo, and was just thinking I need to find some more patterns. I also need a serger! Do you sew most knit dresses/shirts/whatevers exclusively with a serger?
super cute!!!
She is the cutest! What a fun dress!