I’ve barely had any time for sewing lately, but I found myself drawn back into it earlier this year because it’s nearly impossible to find store-bought dresses that fit my tall and slim 11-year-old daughter. I originally bought the stretch velvet fabric last fall with the intention of creating a straightforward gathered-waist t-shirt dress. However, when I saw my sister-in-law wearing a sleeveless knit column dress paired with a turtleneck, I felt inspired.
I imagined something similar for my daughter, but I wanted her dress to have a bit more shape than a straight column dress. To achieve this, I decided to incorporate a waist seam and an A-line skirt. I sketched out my design for her, and she was super excited about it.
Afterward, it was time to draft the pattern. I used the School Bus T-Shirt pattern and our turtleneck drafting tutorial as my foundation. According to the size chart, I combined elements from size 7 and size 12—using the width from size 7 but extending the shoulder and armhole height to match size 12. I also adopted the neckline and 3/4-length sleeves from size 12, finishing them off with simple cuffs.
For the top part of the dress, I measured from my daughter's shoulder down to where I wanted the bodice seam to hit on her torso, cutting it to a length of 15 inches. I followed the method outlined in our turtleneck tutorial to create the turtleneck pattern. I cut the turtleneck piece to the length of the size 12 neckband and made it 6 1/2 inches tall, tapering it in by 1/2 inch on both sides to ensure it sat well at the top. After folding it over and attaching it, I ended up with a 3-inch-high turtleneck, which was perfect.
Next, I measured how long I wanted the skirt to be. I cut it to 37 inches (which turned out to be slightly too long even after a 3/4-inch hem). Since I didn’t want any gathering, I matched the waist width to the bottom of the bodice (15 inches per piece) and flared it out as wide as my fabric allowed (around 28 inches).
I sewed the side seams of the skirt from the top down to 12 inches from the bottom, leaving a 12-inch slit on either side.
Overall, I’m really happy with how the dress turned out. Even though it was straightforward to draft and sew using the School Bus pattern, it feels elegant and flowing. I wish I had widened the shoulders by about an inch. Also, I think a slightly gathered skirt might have added a nice touch.
But my daughter absolutely loves it, and isn’t that what truly matters?
Shaoxing Harbour Textile&Garments Co., Ltd , https://www.sxharbour.com