If you have a little girl that you sew for, there’s a book you need to add to your Christmas list.
It’s Sew Classic Clothes for Girls by Lindsay Wilkes. If that name sounds familiar, she’s the sewing goddess behind The Cottage Mama patterns and blog. She knows how to make beautiful girls’ clothes!
Sew Classic Clothes for Girls includes patterns and instructions for making 20 girls’ dresses, outfits, and accessories. You can combine the pieces to make complete outfits. You can create an entire wardrobe out of the pieces in this book.
Sizes range from 12 months to 10 years. The patterns are printable PDFs on a CD in the back of the book so you can print a fresh copy for each size you need to sew. This book will give you years of beautiful girls’ clothes in classic styles that won’t go out of fashion.
Each project has clear step-by-step instructions with plenty of photos to help you along. A section at the beginning gives information on what tools you’ll need and also explains how to make the details that will finish these outfits beautifully. She covers details like ruffles, piping, bias tape, pin tucks, curved seams, and more.
The book is beautifully photographed and will inspire you to sew a special dress or outfit for your favorite girl.
Some of my favorite projects include:
Pocket Smock Top
The Pocket Smock Top is a loose top top gathered on to a yoke, with pockets across the hem. Piping at the seam where the gathers meet the bodice, and bias tape around the hem are both pretty details. It’s cute worn with a pair of shorts but I can also see it worn with a pair of flare jeans.
Little Lady Coat
Sigh…! Is there anything cuter than a little girl all bundled up in a coat? Actually, there is. A little girl bundled up in a handmade coat, with puff sleeves and a Peter Pan collar and flap pockets.
Banded Shorts
These shorts go casual or dressy depending on the fabric. Mix and match some cotton prints for a casual pair of shorts, maybe make a Smock Pocket Top to match a simple appliqued bib shirt? She shows how to make that, too. Or, dress them up and make them to match the Little Lady Coat.
The Sweet Dress
This will become your go to dress. It has a plain bodice with an optional Peter Pan collar. The waist is slightly raised and the skirt long and full with a layered hem. It cinches in the back for a good fit. A variation of this dress is the Dainty Darling Dress. This version has puff sleeves and a single layer hem.
Are you seeing why I’m loving this book? My daughter is moving out of the size range for this book, but the beautiful (I think I’ve used that word 5 times already in this post) clothes in this book leave me casting about for a little girl to sew for.
And I’m not the only one saying really nice things about Lindsay’s book. Check out the other spots on Sew Classic Clothes for Girls blog tour to what some of your favorite bloggers have to say about this book. There are a number of bloggers with giveaways, so check them all out!
Or, go to The Cottage Mama and read about the stops on her blog book tour there.
Looks like a great book!