Easter Dresses 2023

This post is sponsored by Baby Lock, and fabric was gifted for this collaboration by Isole Linen.

It’s almost time for Easter!! It has become a tradition in our house to sew matching Easter dresses for two girls and myself, so here we are again! This is the third year I’ve decided to do this, and I love how our dresses have turned out this year. I made them with my Baby Lock Brilliant sewing machine and Celebrate serger.

I used this gorgeous retro daisy print 100% linen gifted to me rom Isole Linen. I used 5 yards and it was just enough for the three dresses. It has such a soft hand and the drape is so beautiful! They have lots of other really beautiful prints in this linen fabric, take a minute to check them all out!

For my dress I used the All Well Box Top Wrap Dress Hack. Using the All Well Box Top Pattern size 1, I followed their tutorial to make the wrap dress. It was very easy to follow and hack. I did find that I had to adjust the bodice after my first go at it, the front ends were way too long for me, I probably trimmed 3-4″ off to get the right fit. I ended up unpicking everything after my first take and re-drawing and trimming the neckline and bodice ends- but its turned out really great!! If you have the time and resources I would suggest making a muslin of the top of the dress to save yourself some time. It took me a few tries to get it just right. I extended the arm sleeve by 2″ suggested in the original hack instructions. I also lowered the underarm seam by 2″, a suggested tip from Bethany. (I fell in love with her version of this dress- go check it out!). The fit is perfect for me, not too snug at all. I also added sleeve cuffs like Bethany’s dress. There are instructions for how to do this in the pattern. Unlike the hack instructions provided, I made a little facing for the front tie edges of the dress, and I’ll share how I did that below. I actually used the same process for all three dresses.

For my two daughter’s dresses I used a girls pattern I found on Etsy. The Dora Dress by Coturinha. It comes in sizes 3 months to 10 years. I made size 2 for my 18 month old and size 10 for my 9 year old. I usually size up a little in kids clothing so it will last longer. I made the wrap dress version with 3/4″ sleeves. I also extended to the top tier of the skirt and omitted the second tier. I had to cut a few pieces (like the sleeve and skirt pieces for example) not on the foldline due to underestimating the amount of fabric I ordered, I added 1/2″ for seam allowance and it turned out great. The bodice of this dress is designed to be made with a bodice lining, which finished the neckline edges. I didn’t have enough fabric for this so I finished mine with bias tape and made a little facing for the tie edges to finish it nicely. I’ll share how I did this below!

Neckline and facing wrap Dress Tutorial

1. Using pre-made single fold bias tape, open up bias tape and pin one edge to neckline edge. Stop about 1-2″ from the edge as shown below.

2. Sew along the crease of the bias tape. Press, and fold bias tape over to the wrong side of the neckline, press again and pin in place. Topstitch the bias tape along the front side of the neckline.

3. Next, pin the ties on to the front bodice edges and side seams as shown above, make sure to leave enough space for the seam allowance along he bottom edge. Baste in place.

4. Next, cut out a piece of scrap fabric that matches the shape of the bodice edge. Serger or finish the inside long edge, and pin right sides over the bodice and tie.

5. Sew along the top edge beginning where your previous stitching ended and down the side edge over the tie. Trim the corner edge and flip right sides out. It should look like the first picture above. Hand stitch the top edge in place to cover the bias tape raw edge where pin is shown in second picture above,

6. Extend topstitching all the way to the edge as shown above. The bottom edge of the facing will be secured in the seams when the skirt piece is attached. Now you’re all set!! I used this technique for all three dresses.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter and spring season! Stay tuned for my next spring project coming soon! Catch behind the scenes photos and videos on my Instagram account: @thesaraproject_. Happy sewing!