Wednesday 6 November 2013

Fairy Tale Sewing

I finally did it, and, as often happens, I'm wondering why on earth I didn't do it earlier. I made the Oliver + S Fairy Tale Dress


When I bought the pattern A was only wearing pants and had no interest in twirls or dresses. I'd read all the lengthy discussions in the forum about fitting and darts and muslins. I figured it could wait...

Then I got the pattern out to draft the belt and bow to add to this dress and amazingly I bothered to draft the whole pattern in size 2.

A little while later Once Upon A Sewing Machine invited me to pattern test their wonderful Ruffled PJs (how my kid loves those pyjamas, I just can't tell you!) and that required me to measure my little tacker properly for the first time. What do you know, she was exactly the size 2 measurements.

Could I do away with making a muslin and just jump straight in? Well, when I found this sheer blue/grey fabric at that $3/metre shop the answer was yes, yes, yes!


Once I started sewing the fairy tale really started coming true. It fitted, it was fun to sew and the possibilities for the pattern just seemed endless. This is another of those patterns that, through the excellent instructions and the pattern itself, will cause you to be seriously impressed with what you can sew.


My main fabric is very sheer and I thought about hairline seams and what to do. Quite a bit of thinking for me, since I tend to cut first think later most of the time. I could do hairline seams, but what about the collars seam allowances, they'd show through? And what about the waist darts?

The answer, in the end, was to cut extra copies of everything out of the cotton lining (probably a batiste or similar) and treat one layer of sheer stuff and one layer of cotton as the single main fabric layer. I think it's an answer someone in the forum had already come up with (but of course I'd forgotten to check there), and Nicole then did exactly the same thing, so I was feeling very confident it would work.

I'd like to say it was a dream run sewing it up, but like most good fairy tales there was a sticky bit in the middle when I sewed the invisible zipper on such that the dress would have to be half upside down and inside out in order to close. No great problem, I mean it's not like I lost one really good shoe at a party. A bit of unpicking and slowing down to concentrate and then all really was happily ever after.


When I had sewn just the bodice and skirt I held it up to have a look and suddenly I was wanting to make a sleeveless, collarless version. Then after adding the collar I thought the one after that should be sleeveless, but with a collar. I set the sleeves in and obviously then wanted one just like that without the belt...

It's easy to see how Rachel at Nest Full of Eggs has managed to make ten of them! (well, no actually, it's easy to see how she could conceptualise ten of them, making them all is quite an extraordinary achievement)


Having the sheer fabric underlined with the cotton made it easy to hand sew the hem and make it truly invisible. This was my first time playing with tulle* and I decided to use two layers as the poofiness of a single layer just didn't seem sufficient. This is the nice, soft stuff but I guess a single layer of the stiffer, scratchier stuff would be fine as there's a lining layer to protect little legs.

*excepting my handmade bridal veil I wore on my bike helmet on the morning of my wedding day - who'd waste a perfectly good Saturday morning with hair and make up appointments when there's a bunch ride to join?!


My happy cup of joy was really spilling over when A was watching me sewing it and becoming increasingly excited about it. She absolutely LOVES this dress. Obviously she'd prefer if it was purple, or pink at a stretch. But with some persuasion, and the help of some theme branded Band-Aids she's come around to the idea that Cinderella wore blue and so will she (and "Cinderella has an ouchy on both her knees just like me too").


I'm not sure this is how Cinderella poses for pictures,....

But I am certain that this:...


...is how she does her bench dips to keep her triceps toned.

28 comments:

  1. I'm thinking about following your lead and making my first Fairytale dress in the near future. I feel fortified by your description, it's all sounded quite intimidating up until now. I should probably follow Cinderellas lead and do a few bench dips, too.

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    1. If you have a pretty standard sized kid then it's really quite easy. There's nothing overly tricky in the sewing that the instructions don't guide you through. It would be great to have the weight to strength ratio of a small child wouldn't it?!

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  2. So. Very. Cute.

    Sadly, Bubble still doesn't know what to do with skirts. There are more than a few Sally pics with her skirt over her head! How do you think it would adapt to a blouse? Could I omit the darts and lengthen the bodice easily?

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    1. For littler ones it's more of an occasion dress that you'd squeeze them into, then fret about the food stains! Maybe wait til she hits her inevitable princess phase. Have you seen the Music Class pattern? It has a gorgeous blouse with a similar collar, and sweet little pintucks..

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  3. It's beautiful - just perfect. Those lovely sleeves! And your daughter is such a cutie :)

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    1. THank you. The sleeves was a great A-ha moment when I realised how that shape of fabric made a sleeve. Love it when a pattern does that!

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  4. It came out gorgeous! This has to be my favorite dress pattern of all times, watch out it is addictive! ; )

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  5. it's lovely in blue! It's a time consuming pattern but the results are worth it. Glad she likes it!

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    1. It can be nice to sew slowly sometimes. Thanks for the lovely comment

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  6. The dress is absolutely beautiful and Miss A looks much lovelier than Cinderella. And for $3 a meter, I'll bet C's fairy Godmother couldn't score a deal as good.

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    1. Thanks Deb. Now I'm imagining a sewing godmother who hands down advice about buttons and fabric buying tips. I want one!

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  7. My goodness! This is beautiful. I am in love with that fabric and it was a perfect match for the fairy tale pattern. I'd have swooned if I'd found it for such a great price!
    This is another pattern to add to my list, as if my 48 MB of patterns weren't already enough.

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    1. This pattern would really suit your little girl. Go for it! Funny to measure your pattern stash in MB!

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  8. Oh it's really sweet! This dress pattern really does seem very versatile- this fabric really suits it. And I'm so glad she's loving her PJs!

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    1. There are some ugly bedtimes when those PJs are in the wash! thanks for the lovely comment.

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  9. So pretty! That shade of blue is darling on miss A.

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    1. Thanks Cindy. It's "my" colour, so I'm glad it works well for her too.

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  10. The fabric has me cooing! I love the grain on it, it makes the dress look expensive! I loved making my first Fairytale too. I will make the version with these gorgeous sleeves on for this years Christmas dress. A looks very cute!

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    1. I wish I knew what it was. I've no doubt it's synthetic and would have a very cheap sounding name! But I agree it's looks more than $20 total outlay, thanks!. I love the idea of fancy Christmas dresses and love seeing them all as they fill my Flickr feed!

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  11. This is absolutely lovely! You used such a gorgeous color!!!
    PS Welcome to the Fairy Tale Dress club :)

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  12. Unbelievably sweet!
    I Love It!

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    1. thanks Nicole. You gave me a real confidence boost with your lacy hotpants technique!

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  13. So beautiful! Quite impressive sewing - lined, invisible zipper, and all! And your sweet girl looks so precious in it - so clear that she loves it (which makes a sewing mama's heart happy:)

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    1. Well, let's call it a not-all-that-visible zipper, but thank you so much for the compliments! When I have fun making something AND the recipient loves it, that is heavenly

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  14. Oh boy, I have so done that with invisible zippers as well! The dress is beautiful! And it fits your daughter perfectly!

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  15. This is pretty pretty pretty! I just bought some patterns after a long time and am looking forward to making this one "fortified" as Suzie said by your account. Lovely dress, and I really like the last photo of your girl.

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