Date: 11/5/09 10:18 AM

Hi all,
I was wondering why there is a shortage of patterns for long sleeve dresses for babies. My DSIL lives in Colorado and wanted come long sleeve dresses for my niece for winter. I can find lots of sundresses and a few with short sleeves, but none for long sleeves. The few long sleeve things I see are all for knits. Can you guys find something that I'm not seeing. I have a chirstmas dress in mind but am stuck for a pattern.
Thanks in advance,
Michelle
-- Edited on 11/5/09 10:36 AM --

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Date: 11/5/09 10:54 AM

Sunrise Designs have some woven long sleeve dresses in traditional styles. Style #T112 (Dress Up) starts in 12 months. The one that I made and really liked that sized for preemie to 18 months was style 290 (Heaven Sent). It's been discontinued but I found it here. The one that was at the bottom (Little Princess) looks cute, too. Of course, that's if you like the traditional styles. Don't let the fabrics used in the pictures fool you. I made up my daughter's in a blue velour with a matching tiny purse.

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Reply to hornlinechick
Date: 11/5/09 11:14 AM

Kwiksew 2706 has long sleeves. When my dd was small I made her jumpers and added a long sleeve t-shirt. I have nto looked at the Kwiksew Baby book for years, but I think it had dress options too.

I found that heavier knits were generally warmer than wovens for winter dresses. French terry, sweatshirt fleece are warm, cozy and easy to embellish.

You can use a long sleeve t-shirt patten and extend it to a dress.



KS 3375 give you a dress, onesy and pants. You can use the long sleeve on the dress instead of the short sleeve.

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2008 fabric in 0
2008 Fabric used 1 m

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Date: 11/5/09 11:25 AM

I just made a Simplicity one, but I will have to look up the pattern # again.

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Reply to hornlinechick
Date: 11/5/09 1:05 PM

Edited to add: you don't say how old your niece is, but if she is not yet sitting up, I'd really consider doing a knit dress (or at least a knit bodice) with no back closures. Woven clothing with buttons or zippers in back can be very uncomfortable for tiny ones. If you want something dressy, you can use a stretch velvet or another fancy knit for the top and gather on a pretty woven skirt using clear elastic.

Here's a traditional dress with a long sleeve option that starts at size one:
McCall's 5964


Here's a "Fabulous Fleece" dress in infant sizes, but it has a back zipper and the suggested fabrics include poplin and linen wovens:
McCall's 4641


Here's an infant drop-waist dress for wovens with a long sleeve view:
McCall's 5916

-- Edited on 11/5/09 1:10 PM --

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Date: 11/5/09 2:06 PM

Thanks for all your ideas.

My niece will be 10 months old around Christmas but aparently she is small for her age or they childrens patterns all run very large. The things I have made her from patterns that "should" have been the right size according to her age were all huge on her. So aparently I need to be looking around the 6 month size and check finished meas. against her's ( I trained my DSIL how to measure her).

She is sitting up and just started crawling. For closures I usually put an overlap and snaps at the CB and my DSIL like those. Again thanks for all your ideas and keep them comming.
-Michelle

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Date: 11/5/09 2:32 PM

Also, you can simply extend the length on any one of the short sleeved patterns you can find.

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I've joined the "Fabric Fast" and pledged to buy 1 yard for every 4 yards sewn.
2009 Fabric purchased : 0
Fabric sewn: 0
Fabric given away: 0
Fabric remaining: I have no idea. An Awful Lot.

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Reply to hornlinechick
Date: 11/5/09 3:52 PM

Quote: hornlinechick

aparently she is small for her age or they childrens patterns all run very large.

Yes, I have found that most children's patterns have a huge amount of ease in them - they're practically sacks!

Drawing a long sleeve from a short one is a good idea. You would need to know how long to make it, and what the wrist circumference should be - you could get the measurements from from a top or jacket pattern, from DSIL, or by measuring a RTW shirt or dress at the store.

I don't know how comfortable you would be with this, but something I do very often with multi-sized patterns is "grade" the patterns up or down past the sizes offered in the pattern - sometimes WELL past the available sizes. This year, a pattern I wanted to use for Halloween was sold out of the size I needed, so I ended up drawing a size 6-7-8 down to a size 2. This is especially easy with children's clothes, because of the easy fit (and usually simple pieces). There are hundreds of patterns available in toddler sizes, and just not very many for infants.

The way I do it is to figure out what the size I need, based on comparing the actual measurements I want with the finished measurements printed on the pattern envelope (or by measuring the pattern pieces themselves if I have to), and then I copy what the pattern makers have already done. For example, if I need to go down 2 sizes, and the side seams have 1/2 inch between each size, I draw side seams 1 inch in from the smallest size. Repeat with all the other seams, blending the curves where needed.

It's more work, of course, but worth it when you find the "perfect" pattern in the wrong size.

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Date: 11/5/09 5:05 PM

I just remembered that the Simplicity toddler patterns start at size 1/2 - they might work for you.

Here's the super cute dress I'm making for my 2 yo this year. It has two different longer sleeve styles:

Simplicity 2767






Here's a yoked dress with lots of options. A crawler might appreciate the shorter length:

Simplicity 2674





Here's one with pleats or ruffled tiers:

Simplicity 2709



Why, yes, I AM avoiding everything on my to-do list by playing on patternreview, thanks for asking.

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Date: 11/5/09 5:06 PM

I found the same problem with the sleeves when sewing for dd. I opted for jumpers with long sleeved Carter's onesies underneath. Then you don't need the little pants under the dress.

On sizing, patterns run huge! When sewing for others, I compare the size chart of RTW to the pattern to come up with the correct size. Even in toddlers, my daughter takes a 5 in the store and a 3 in a pattern. It's nuts!

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