The Fringe Dress for Girls by Chalk and Notch

I am excited to share the Girls' Fringe Dress by Chalk and Notch today! This beautiful dress and blouse is the mini version of the Women's Fringe Dress that so many of us love! Ansley has wanted a dress of her own since I sewed mine this summer. Fortunately Gabriela drafted one in smaller sizes and I had enough fabric left over to sew her one!



The Girls' Fringe Dress comes in sizes 12 months- 12 years. There are two views with interchangeable cuffs and a blouse length and dress length. There are optional pockets and optional waist ties! The pattern instructions are clickable so you can get to the section you need when viewing electronically. There are also abbreviated instructions that are a great reference when you've sewn a few. And a few Fringes might not be enough!! The pdf pattern is in layers so you can print the size(s) you want. There are also instructions to blend sizes as necessary and all the appropriate pattern notches and markings so everything lines up beautifully. I also love the instructions for a professional finish.



I was very lucky to get to test this pattern! Thanks Gabriela for letting me test! And thanks to Tami for taking the pictures of both of us!



I was in the first phase and tested view B, since mine is view B. I included the pockets, just like mine, and got permission to cut the sleeve cuffs perpendicular to the grainline, just like mine. (In testing I follow the instructions exactly because I feel like that's part of a tester's job). Since sewing Ansley's dress, the view B bodice has been changed slightly to better accommodate getting over the head of smaller sizes and to not be too big on smaller bodies. My girls' heads were always in the 90th percentile when they measured head sizes at their pediatrician's. I love that Gabriela came up with a beautiful solution and lovely fit for view B. View B now has a fully lined bodice and a little slit closed with a button in the back. I'm excited to try this method when I sew one for Lisbon. Unfortunately this 100% rayon from Joanns is no longer available so I'll have to figure something else out.







The Girls' Fringe Dress is on sale until December 26th, no coupon code needed. Which view will you sew first?



Thanks for stopping by!

Art Gallery Stripes Tour

Hello! I'm super excited to be part of the Art Gallery Stripes Tour! I couldn't say yes to Karly fast enough! This week will be full of lots of eye candy by

SookEe Designs / Replicate Then Deviate / Sew Sophie Lynn / 

Heather Handmade / Sew A Straight Line / Confetti Unicorn

Art Gallery Stripes come in beautiful and vibrant colors and I love the different widths they offer. I was elated to find that the stripes were not off grain!!! The fabric has a wonderful weight and excellent stretch and recovery. I actually sewed these in October when it was still warm but the girls have worn and washed their dresses several times before all of the group pictures we took this weekend, so you can see how the color and quality is holding up!



I let the girls pick the fabrics for their dresses. Lisbon picked Striped Sleek Pink, Ansley picked Striped Alike Aqua, and I picked Striped Bold Mediterrano. A big thank you to Art Gallery for sponsoring this tour! I love seeing the different stripe widths in one place! I am a little partial to the wide stripe and the sleek stripes because I haven't seen them as commonly.





The girls' dresses are the Mouse House Creations Janie Dress and Peplum because I love a striped circle skirt and we all love a good twirl! I love the circle skirt of the Janie Dress and how the bodice fits. I used the regular bodice pieces and the regular circle skirt. I sewed a size seven for Lisbon (she's probably a size six) and a size 12 for Ansley (she's probably a size 10) because they wanted to be able to wear their dresses for a long time. When the fabric arrived we all couldn't stop snuggling it. Haha. The skirt is a little long on Lisbon but she's growing and she likes the length now. I picked to have the stripes be horizontal in the front of Lisbon's circle skirt and vertical in the front of Ansley's circle skirt.



I used the Sew Straight Ladies Avenue (Top and )Dress for my dress. I have sewn this dress before and decided to size up two sizes for this striped dress. The reasons I decided to size up two sizes from my measurements are I wanted a slightly looser/less snug silhouette so I could have the option of wearing this dress without a slip (sorry Mom!) and because I had already sewn one size up and when I tried it on it fit well through the shoulders and hips but felt a little snug through the chest and belly. So this is a size XL slimmed through the hips to probably a size M. The pattern gives instructions for blending sizes and it worked really well. I sort of cheated on the girls' dresses and cut their pieces on the fold but I definitely cut my dress flat so it would be easier to line the stripes up!





We had a really fun time with our local photo shoot! Pictures by Tyrone, me, Ansley, and Lisbon.

































































And then we had a really fun time meeting up with Karly and Tami for a group photoshoot! The first pic is by Karly. The one with all of us is by Karly's husband. The other pictures are by Ansley or me.



















Thanks for stopping by!!