When I saw this dress pattern for the first time, I absolutely fell in love with it. It has a vintage feel which I adore, but it’s actually quite simple to sew (unlike some of those vintage patterns). The Raglan Party Dress from Designs by Call Ajaire will be in the upcoming issue of One Thimble Magazine, just in time to get ready for the holidays!
Testing this dress was also perfect timing for me since I was planning to sew some dresses for my big girl. She loves wearing dresses with tights or leggings and boots, so I was excited to give this one a shot. The Raglan Party Dress comes in 3 views with the main difference being in the contrast of the inverted pleats. It has an invisible zipper closure and ranges in size newborn to 12 years. Do NOT let that zipper scare you away, her instructions are very easy to follow.
I tested the 3T size with a 5 length. The first version I tested was view A, the one with all of the inverted pleats in a contrast fabric. Make sure you check your fabric requirements before you start cutting though, because I way underestimated how much I would need at first! I ended up choosing some leftover fabric from a cute jacket I made (I will be sharing that very soon as I really love it!). It’s pink cotton linen and the white and pink fabric is something from Robert Kaufman, both of which I picked up at Discount Fabrics.
I really love the raglan style shoulder which just screams to be colorblocked. It also screamed “add gold trim” too, or was that just me trying to make my daughter look like an ornament? The heart came about last minute when she said she wanted a gold balloon on the “boring pink part”. I came up with this little golden heart balloon, and I really like the way it turned out. I used wonder tape to hold it in place while I sewed it on using gold metallic thread. I didn’t switch to a metallic thread needle, just used my universal needle and a longer stitch length (3 specifically).
I was a bit “worried” about loosing track of all of the inverted pleats when sewing the skirt portion, but it was actually really simple. The instructions are very clear with simple illustrations, and DbCA also includes hints that make sewing each step even easier. I really appreciate these hints, and I’ve learned quite a bit from them too!
The second dress I made is the updated pattern, and I used some sweet calico fabric I’ve had for ages. I used scrap chambray for the shoulders and added piping of course. I made version C this time, and I love how adorable it turned out!
Look at how sweet that back neckline is! I just can’t get enough of this dress! Anyway, you can see the back neckline was lowered a little from the earlier pink version. It’s perfect!
It takes a little longer than say a gathered or circle skirt, but it’s so fun and different. I hear there’s a free petticoat add on coming down the road too which will add some fun poof and really showcase those inverted pleats.
My girl loves her dresses too, and pretty much anything that makes her feel pretty while she wears her cowgirl boots. She was so happy to find some that weren’t pink in her size.
The One Thimble issue 13 is coming out on November 11th, so keep your eye out. There are seriously so many adorable patterns in this issue. I’ve actually never bought any of One Thimble’s issues because I already subscribe to so many sewing pattern programs and such, but I just might need this one. Also, they sell the individual patterns from the issue too in case you don’t want the whole magazine. But in all seriousness, what sewist doesn’t want a magazine full of beautiful sewing patterns and pictures to drool over?! Am I right?!
On that note, I better get sewing…I’m behind already!
penny sew vintage 
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