i’m emerging from my blogging hibernation, rubbing my eyes and blinking in the springtime sun, to share E’s easter dress as part of the blog tour for the new Sew Pony Vintage. behold her newest pattern, the Miss Polly Dress!
the Miss Polly Dress is a sweet a-line dress pattern with dramatic pockets but an otherwise simple shape. you have but plenty of chances to customize the look of the dress using various fabric/piping/sleeve combinations, which makes it fun and adaptable to all seasons.
i decided on View B – a cap sleeve with piping details – and kept the body of the dress solid while playing with soft, spring-y colors. i chose a mauve stretch corduroy from mill end, light lavender piping for the chest seam, pockets, and sleeves, and a lovely Valori Wells Wish voile i’ve been hoarding for a couple years for the pockets and lining.
the dress closes with a robin’s egg blue invisible zipper, and when i went to hem the dress i realized there were no stitches showing anywhere else, so i just had to hand stitch a blind hem to finish it off!
E is nearly 8 and on the small side, but has actually caught up to and even passed a few of her peers in height this year. she’s still quite slender, though. her measurements put her between a size 4 and a 5 in chest but a 7 in height, so i went ahead and sewed a size 5 + a bunch of length, which worked out really well i think.
i just love the lines of this dress!
rather than follow the pattern instructions to lengthen the dress, which have you add most of the length at the hem, i used the “slash and spread” method to add 2.5” within the lower third of the dress, deciding a notch around hip/thigh-level was the natural place to add length. i’m not normally that “proper” with how i add length, but i wanted the dress to retain the intended shape of the pattern, not to become too long and skinny (preventing movement) or too flared (wrong fabric for that). i really love how it turned out! the corduroy has just enough structure to it to maintain that a-line shape, but it isn’t too stiff or heavy.
Sew Pony patterns are clear in their instructions and include step by step photos to guide you. there are options to make this a long sleeved or sleeveless dress, one with shoulder flaps, you can mix and match fabrics…so many choices that i ended up laying about 5 different fabric combinations on my sewing room floor before deciding on this one! i’m glad i went with this combo in the end – E loves the rainbow and this shade of purple has taken over for pink as her favorite color, so this dress immediately became her go-to dress to wear to “fancy events,” including Easter festivities and birthday parties!
i love the pockets and the peek of that gorgeous voile inside.
the Miss Polly Dress PDF pattern is now available in the Sew Pony Vintage shop! for the duration of the tour (through April 15), you can get 15% off with the code MISSPOLLY15 – click on over and check it out!
also be sure to visit my tourmates – we are quite the international bunch! thanks for having me, Suz!
skirt as top 
so pretty! Those colors are gorgeous! And way to be all proper in adding length. 🙂 And almost 8! crazy!!!
thanks anna! i know it’s so crazy, right?? 8 is full blown kid status, for sure.
Beautiful dress! I love the colors and the voile at the pockets. My girls love pockets, so I definitely need to check out this pattern.
thanks tanya! it’s a super fun kangaroo pocket, too. 🙂
Love it!! Love the colors, the fabric choices (I am a corduroy lover!). It’s perfect! 🙂
And I almost stitched a blind hem by hand too for the same reason! But then I got lazy… 🙂 I keep looking at it though and I may have to unpick my machine sewn hem and just hand stitch it…
I loved yours, Sara!! Those fabrics are great and your daughter is super adorable in it (even if it was sewn for a different kid, hehe). Might be a good “in front of a movie” project if you decide to unpick. 🙂
oh my goodness! So pretty, and I love the piping addition. My Lilah and Em are nearly the same age and I have the same issues with sizing – slender and tall. Good tip to add the extra length the “proper” way:) Love this pattern and love how you’ve sewn it up!
Thanks so much Lucinda!
So cute! Love the pockets, such a fun detail!
Isn’t that neat? I love the “curves and angles” components of this dress, it looks so sharp. Sun did a great job with the pattern!
I love your version of the dress! And this is really good info about adding length. I had never thought about it like that before. I’m going to keep this in mind for when I make this dress. It looks perfect! And your fabric pairing was spot on!
Thank you Rachel! I often see “lengthen/shorten lines” on adult garments to sort of clue you in on the best place to modify the pattern, so I went with that. Just didn’t need any other changes but length so that was the best way to do it!
I love this dress in corduroy!! It just makes sense with the more structured shape and piping. And the contrast fabric is soooooo pretty. Totally awesome!
Thanks so much Inder! 🙂
This is beautiful! I think I’ll be getting the pattern. I think my girls would love the big pockets!
Yay, thanks Sarah!
I love the corduroy! Glad you found a good use for that voile, it’s so pretty! Em looks so grown up!
Thanks Gail! I know, she’s growing and she has all these new teeth and she’s feeling so much older these days! We need to get the girls together soon. 🙂