Help finding easy dress patterns for older kids

January 3, 2018 7:27 AM

I’m trying to find a (downloadable) pattern for a basic dress for my 12-year-old daughter. I want a basic bodice, long sleeves, and a twirly skirt (although more like a half-circle skirt, not a full circle skirt). Seems like it shouldn’t be hard, but I’m having a terrible time finding patterns that don’t top out at girls 10 (or start at women’s 8).
posted by leahwrenn to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (8 answers total)

Best answer: How about this Oliver + S Building Block Dress? She has a number of lines so if you don't like that, take a good trawl through her site and see if there's something that suits. I think she has darling children's clothing patterns.
posted by HotToddy at 7:37 AM on January 3, 2018

Try Jalie patterns, they started out as a sports/ballet/figure skating provider so should have adolescent sizes.
posted by Hypatia at 8:09 AM on January 3, 2018 [2 favorites]

I believe Burda does adolescent girls sizes.
posted by crush at 8:12 AM on January 3, 2018

You're right, this shouldn't be hard. Sounds like a very basic design you're looking for.

Option 1: Try looking for a pattern for a top that you like, and then add a skirt to it. Easy!

Option 2: find an adult pattern that you like, and then size it down. You may have better luck getting a kid pattern and sizing up due to the bust. There are lots of instructions online for how to do it. It isn't hard.

Option 3 (and the one I would choose): Make it up yourself. This shouldn't be too hard to self draft, especially if you have an existing shirt of hers that you can base the bodice off of. Also, if you use a fabric with stretch you'll have a lot more leeway in terms of fit/comfort.

Reference: I make a LOT of my own clothes, and never use patterns.
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 8:14 AM on January 3, 2018

Response by poster: I’ve never made a bodice/shirt, so I do need a pattern for the first time. I think self-drafting is a little beyond my current sewing skills. (Mostly I’ve made skirts and fleece hats.)
posted by leahwrenn at 8:32 AM on January 3, 2018

Love Notions girls patterns go up to a size sixteen, and if you're a beginner they have a SUPER helpful and active facebook group for modifying patterns and troubleshooting your work as you go.

I think PuppetMcSockerson has the right idea with option 1. Getting shoulders and arm holes to work is semi-complicated, but adding a skirt is pretty easy. I think this pattern might be a good start?
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 9:07 AM on January 3, 2018 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Take a look at Jalie 3460. I made long sleeved dresses with a twirly skirt for my two daughters when we were invited to a cold-weather wedding. The figure-skating pictures can be a turn off but this pattern totally works as a dress. Jalie patterns are great because they usually cover all sizes from toddler to adult.
posted by nectarine danish at 6:50 PM on January 3, 2018

Response by poster: I've successfully made one dress from the Jalie 3460 pattern (short, a sample dress to make sure it was going to work) which is incredibly cute, and I'm almost finished with the second dress, for my daughter's bat mitzvah next month, and it's going to be really pretty. Pasting together the 35 pages to make the pattern is extremely tedious, but on the other hand, I don't have to wait for the mail, and it's awesome to be able to use Adobe Reader to just select the size you want to print out on the pattern (instead of having to sort through the 30 different sizes).
posted by leahwrenn at 2:40 PM on June 20, 2018