An Easter Dress for my Favorite Girl

Obviously this was finished a while ago. I am finally getting around to posting. This ended up being a pretty quick project especially since it was smocked (I started pleating the fabric--the first step in this project--6 days before Easter. Needless to say I was under a bit of stress to get this one done). After I was finished I was quickly on to other things and didn't get around to sharing it with you until now.

My inspiration for my daughter's Easter dress came from the latest issue of Australian Smocking. I love to make smocked dresses for my daughter. She is getting older and I wanted a style that was smocked but more sophisticated than the usual smocked dress. The Australian Smocking issue had a black floral sheath style dress that was beautiful. I didn't want to spend $15 on the issue since I only wanted the one pattern. I didn't think that a pattern for a simple a-line sheath style dress would be hard to find. I did have a little trouble but finally found Butterick 4220.

This dress had the right shape. I was a little leery because it didn't have a real person in the dress so was hard to tell the exact fit. I was also a little concerned because this was supposed to go over the head. I wanted it to be a bit fitted and there might too much ease if it was designed to go over the head. The fit ended up being perfect. I was very happy with the results and so was my daughter.

Here is a picture of my favorite girl and my boys ready for church on Easter morning. My review follows the pictures.

A close up of the smocking.

Pattern Description: Pullover, a-line dress, above ankle or mid-knee length, has stitched hems. A, B: lined.

Pattern Sizing: 7-10 and 12-16 I made a size 7 for my daughter who wears a RTW 9 slim (she could wear a 7or 8 RTW but she need the length).

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, except the skirt on the picture is more full than the finished garment.

Were the instructions easy to follow? I didn't pay too much attention to the directions. This is a very easy garment to put together. I do think that the directions for attaching the lining is not correct.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I like how quickly it went together. The pieces fit together quite well. I didn't like that the pictures shows a smooth set in sleeve but it is really quite gathered.

Fabric Used: Stretch cotton. I wanted the dress to have a bit of body, not as much drape. This worked well.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I cut out a section in the middle of the bodice and inserted the smocking panel. The smocking panel did not go all the way under the arm to the side seam so I added dress fabric to the sides of the panel. After adding the side panels I had one large rectangle. I laid the original dress pattern over my rectangle and cut the armhole.

I also added an invisible zipper in the back seam. I am not sure how my daughter would get this dress on without the zipper (maybe if I used the suggested drapey fabric it would have been able to be a pullover). Her measurements matched the size 7 almost perfectly and it fits her perfectly .

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Yes it is a nicely fitting dress and looks cute. I think next time I would cut the bodice and make a two color block dress. I would look very different.

Conclusion: This is a nice pattern. It is a good basic dress that has a lot of potential to make different many times.


As soon as I finish my daughter's Jalie shirt I will share those. Hopefully soon!

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by. Have a great day!

Until next time...