Molly's Party Dress

This is an original American Girl pattern, made up in white polycotton. 

Evidently, the company used to release the patterns to sew at home. Obviously, Mattel no longer do so, but I found these on the internet. The dress is part of a collection of patterns for the Molly doll, whose era is the 1940s. This dress was actually for sale up until the dolls were retired at the end of 2013, so my daughter was excited that I could make it for her Emily doll.

American Girl 2013

The pattern fitting and instructions are actually not that great. The bodice fit is quite large, and the finishing is terrible. The pattern calls for finishing both the neckline and armholes by clipping and hemming. The waistband is also left with raw edges and there are no instructions for attaching the waist ties. I drafted a bodice lining to enclose all the bodice seams and edges and it gives a much nicer finish. Plus, as I used a polycotton, and not a quilting weight cotton, the thicker bodice works better.

Applying all that ric rack along all those ruffles was very time consuming. I do wonder at the historical accuracy of such opulent sleeves. By comparison, the skirt is quite skimpy. I will cut it slightly longer if I make it again. I will also leave a small gap at the waist tie so that I can have the back enclosure overlap at the tie.

Overall, it was really nice to make something from an actual pattern, not just devise my own knock-off. I'm due to make a second one for a friend, but first I have to get motivated to make all those ruffles a second time.

Cost:

Pattern: free

Fabric: £1.72

Ric rac: £2.40

Total: £4.12