Ruffled Peasant Dress & Bloomers

When I think of little girls, the first thing I think of is cute ruffly dresses. Something feminine but not over powering.  And when I think of newborns, I think of how fragile their little bodies are for those first few months and how dressing them has to be easy.  So when I decided to make a little newborn dress, I wanted to make this Infant Peasant Dress Pattern & Tutorial by Sew Much Ado.

It’s one I’ve used several times, and I love it. It’s simple to make, is super easy to get on and off a tiny baby, and it’s cute!  I followed the pattern for the construction of the dress with a couple of additions. I followed the instructions clear through step 11 as is. Then, I wanted a ruffle around the neckline.

I hemmed a strip of fabric 1/4″ on each of the long sides, then ruffled the strip. You’ll need about 1-1/2 times the length of the neckline. You also don’t need to ruffle the strip too much, because its going around the neckline that will be gathered by elastic later on. Once you have your ruffle created, sew it to the stitch line that creates your casing. Just be sure you don’t stitch over the casing opening yet…you still have to put the elastic in! I also added a little bow so my husband can tell which way is the front. 🙂

Then follow the instructions again until you get to the hemline. Instead of putting on ric-rac or hemming the bottom, we’re going to add another layer of ruffles. Take another strip of fabric (about 1-1/2 times the length of the hem) and press it in half as shown below.

With wrong sides together, gather your ruffle. Now line up your ruffle and the bottom of the dress so the raw edges are together and right sides are together, and sew your ruffle on! Topstitch to keep the ruffle in place.

I also wanted to create bloomers, so I used the Shortie Nightgown and Bloomers pattern by Get Your Crap Together. The pattern doesn’t come in newborn size, but it’s pretty straightforward so I sized it down to newborn and sewed them up according to the instructions.

And the result is a fantastic little minty dress with feminine (yet delicate) ruffles that will let your little princess shine. Do you love the ruffles? 

You’ll also want to head over to The Crafty Cupboard to see Melanie’s stinkin’ adorable versions (yes, two!) of the Natty Janes. You’ll die over how cute they are.