Monday, June 23, 2014

The Classic Little Girls Dress

Welcome Carmen Baugh, co-owner of Three Maria Designs, an on-line clothing boutique offering quality, hand sewn designs for children. Carmen is a sewing instructor at Mary Jo’sCloth Store and shares her favorite style dress for little girls; the A-Line dress.


I was fortunate to be the recipient of my mother-in-law’s vintage patterns.  They were neatly stored in a closet along with her fabric stash.  Inside the box were two patterns for an A-Line jumper that dated back to the 1950’s and 1960’s.  The patterns were priced 25 cents and 45 cents respectively.  I knew then that the A-Line jumper was a true classic.  I have sewn hundreds of them for my daughters, nieces, great nieces, granddaughter, friends, and with students in sewing classes, and now for Three Maria Designs. 


My favorite pattern, which I have used for the past 5 years, is “Lucy” by Children’s Corner. I like this pattern because it is not stacked; with each size as a separate piece.  This means you do not have to trace the size you need.  The directions are clear and easy to follow and the pattern is true to size.

The A-Line dress is a simple and I look at it as a blank canvas.  It is perfect for monograms, appliqué, ric rac, lace, ruffles and piping. I have embellished A-Line dresses with a variety of themes such as birthday cakes, pumpkins, ghosts, Christmas trees, flowers, crabs, alligators, a jester hat and more.  You can be very creative! 


It is a fun dress that is easy to make and the fit is very forgiving.  It can be made as a summer jumper using seersucker fabric (my favorite) and for winter using corduroy and worn with a blouse or turtleneck.   I make my dresses fully lined with matching covered buttons and that is what students learn in my class.


If you are interested in learning how to make an A-Line dress, I will be teaching a class at Mary Jo’s Cloth Store on August 14 and August 21, 2014.  We will be making the A-Line Pumpkin Dress. I hope to see you there! Click here for more information.

Maria Carmen Baugh
Three Maria Designs

Visit Three Maria Designs to see more clothing for the best-dressed child at www.ThreeMariaDesigns.com and on Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/ThreeMariaDesigns




3 comments:

Zumi said...

I agree that this is a cute little classic dress.

Barbara Nimmo said...

Let's embrace the allure of this classic little girls' dress while keeping an eye out for Avail This Deal on the Promotion Page to make our shopping endeavors even more delightful!

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