I made these little dresses from the Oliver + S, Tea Party Dress pattern. It’s a great pattern with optional piping and best of all the pattern has a play suit option. So, for those of you with both boys and girls and a weakness for dressing your kiddies up a la the von Trapp family, you can do it!
I should comment that the pattern was incredibly easy to follow and the directions were very clear with many crisp illustrations. You could almost learn to sew from this sort of pattern. The only tricky bit was the curved sewing on the bodice. It is not conceptually difficult, it just takes patience to go slowly and make sure that the curve is smooth.
I have to admit that the strong colours I chose for these dresses weren’t the best choice. I am attracted by bright, bold patterns, but they probably look best in home decor or quilts. I think the dresses would have been more flattering if I had chosen a daintier print. I will use this pattern again in the Autumn to make winter dresses, maybe with needle-cord fabric and piping only were the bodice meets the skirt.
Oliver + S has a great site with all the patterns for sale. That said, I bought my patterns on Etsy from fabricstosew. Fabrictosew is in Texas, and the lady running it was very attentive and sent the patterns out straight away. She also has the best price on the web! Because I only ordered two patterns I did not attract a customs' duty and all the faff that goes along with one.
