I’m back with another version of the Joey dress today. This one is made with long sleeves and a snuggly cowl neck. And you know how much we love our cowl necks around here!
This dress is really cosy, and that Heather Ross strawberry knit fabric is so soft and cuddly.
The hem of the long sleeves are bound with a strip of fabric, I like being able to use a contrast fabric for the binding for a more playful look – the contrast suits this particular dress nicely. The contrast fabric is a solid from Lillestoff. I can’t remember the name of it now, but it is a lovely deep plum colour.
The Joey pattern is avaliable at a bargain price of just $10 until 8pm tonight so get in quick if you want to save yourself some dollars! This is such a great dress – with short, 3/4, and long sleeve lengths it is definitley a pattern you can sew all year ’round!
SUPPLIES: Make It Perfect, Joey sewing pattern Heather Ross, Briar Rose knit, Strawberry in lilac Lillestoff solid plum
Today I want to show you one of the sleeve variations that comes with the Skippy dress pattern. The pattern includes three different sleeve lengths – short, 3/4 and long. I have already shownyou the 3/4 length and this dress today shows the long sleeve length.
I made this dress from a merino wool knit, it is a little more turquoise in colour than the photos show and it is the warmest fabric to wear. A friend picked it up for me from a local fabric store so I can’t really tell you much more about it other than it is merino wool. I was expecting it to be a bit itchy, but it has quickly become my favourite knit fabric for sewing special garments with. Although the fabric is quite thin, the warmth it gives is unbelievable. When I first made this Skippy dress, it was a frosty morning the next day for school drop off. I wore my dress without a jacket and was surprised at how warm I was. Because the merino wool knit is super stretchy is it also really comfortable to wear.
I didn’t have enough merino for the skirt of this dress, so made the skirt using a Lillestoff print that is another one of my favourites. I love this combo, and I love the way that by combining two different fabrics for the skirt and top pieces, the dress actually looks like two different items of clothing! I have had many people tell me that they “like my skirt” when I’m wearing this dress! This one has also made it into the “favourites” category and is in heavy rotation in the wardrobe!
Remember, both Skippy and Joey are avaliable at a special introductory price for just $10 until Wednesday, so if you want to pick up these patterns at a great price then don’t miss out!
SUPPLIES: Make It Perfect, Skippy pattern Merino wool knit in turquoise Lillestoff, Smila Roses in petrol
Thankyou for your lovely comments and excitement on Facebook, Instagram and the blog about my new patterns, Skippy & Joey. I’m excited to see you guys take these patterns and turn them into great dresses for yourselves and your girls!
The Skippy dress pattern was actually written up over 3 months ago, and in that time I’ve had a chance to make quite a few variations for myself, sisters and friends. This is one of my favourites.
I’m a sucker for prints and patterns in fabric. For kids, this is great, but clothing for myself requires a bit of thought and planning to create a garment that incorporates my favourite prints but doesn’t look like it belongs to a little kid! This Lillestoff raindrops print is one of my absolute favourite jersey knits and I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.
Now, a dress made entirely of these raindrops would feel a bit like a nightie to me! But to incorporate it into a very wearable dress, I simply cut the front top piece out of the raindrops and everything else from a dark grey solid jersey.
I love love love this dress – it’s definitley in my favourites and does it pass the wearable test? Well, I’ve been wearing it at least once a week for the last 3 months so I think it gets a big tick in that department!
These kangaroo pockets are becoming a favourite of mine too. I can easily stash my keys in them during school drop off with Harvey on my hip and I find it comfortable to have a pocket to stuff my hands in too.
The gathered sleeves add a pretty touch too, taking the Skippy dress to another level and giving you the chance to create much more than just a tshirt-style dress.
For Lil’s Joey dress, I choose a fun print for the main dress and sleeve pieces, but used a solid hot pink for all of the trims.
I love how the solid pink breaks up the busy print and adds a bit of extra detail to the dress.
The triangle jersey came from Ixat, but not sure if it is still in stock? It is a gorgeous print, the fabric is a little thin but fine for this dress though.
I love how you can change the look of these dresses simply by being creative with your fabric choices. There are lots of different pieces involved in these dresses, so the options to mix and match fabrics, prints and colours are endless!
SUPPLIES: Make It Perfect, Skippy pattern Make It Perfect, Joey pattern Lillestoff raindrops jersey knit Charcoal jersey knit Pink triangles on grey jersey knit Solid hot pink jersey knit
Welcome back for the release of my second pattern! After designing Skippy I knew that this style of dress would be perfect for little girls too. I made a few trial versions for Lil and was so happy with them that I got to work on creating the girl’s version of this dress…
A mini version of the Make It Perfect women’s Skippy dress, Joey is a pretty, everyday dress for little girls made with your favourite stretchy knit fabric.
There’s plenty to smile about with its pretty gathered sleeves in a choice of three lengths, an optional cowl neck and a swingy skirt.
Joey has a great, everyday shape featuring handy kangaroo-style pouch pockets.
Make it in a solid colour or mix and match prints and patterns for endless different looks.
Easy to put on, comfortable to wear and perfect for play. Joey is a dress for all tree-climbing, puddle-jumping and bike-riding adventures!
Seriously…this dress on little girls is the cutest thing ever! My testers have made up some awesome dresses, each of them with unique fabric mixing and matching – I’ll share them soon! I love how Joey suits all ages too, from tiny 1 year olds all the way up to a size 10, it is such an adaptable pattern. And with three different sleeve lengths and an optional cowl neck, you can make a dress to suit any weather and any occasion!
When it came to naming both the Skippy and Joey dresses, I really struggled for awhile. My Mum and sisters were brainstorming with me one afternoon and I suggested that maybe the name should refer to the influence of the kangaroo-style pouch pocket and we (okay, Mum!) remembered watching Skippy the Bush Kangaroo on TV as a little girl and I was sold! I love the iconic Aussie reference, being an Aussie pattern designer and all.
I stole my cute niece Michaela one afternoon when she was visiting us from Sydney last month to be my model. (Much to Lil’s disgust…maybe she wont complain when I ask her for a photo now!) Michaela was a trooper – it was really cold and she kept smiling and playing in between her chattering teeth!
I can’t wait to show you more variations of the Joey dress, knit fabrics are becoming more and more popular and we are lucky to have a growing amount of great quality fabrics to choose from now. And for those of you scared of sewing with knits…I’m going to be posting some detailed information about sewing with knits using only your sewing machine very soon. You don’t need anything fancy and once you’ve got the hang of it, I promise there will be no stopping you!
Joey comes in two size ranges (0-5 and 6-10) and you can purchase a PDF copy here. For the next week, Joey will be on sale at a discounted introductory price of just $10! (Sale ends Thursday 14th July.)
Paper copies of Joey will be arriving in stores very soon. Check out my stockists to order if you prefer a paper pattern.
I’ve been sewing a mountain of Skippy and Joey dresses so will be sure to flood the blog with them over the next little while and show you lots and lots of different options!
SUPPLIES: Make It Perfect, Joey pattern Lillestoff organic cotton jersey in petrol
I’ve got lots of new patterns popping up on the blog this week. A freebie shorts pattern and TWO new pattern releases! I’m excited to share the first one with you today because this is my very favourite dress to wear – lets take a look at:
The Skippy dress is a fabulously flattering and extremely comfortable everyday dress designed to be made with your favourite stretchy knit fabric.
Pretty, gathered sleeves in a choice of three lengths, a strategically placed pouch pocket, optional cowl neck and a feminine, swingy skirt make it almost irresistable!
The waistband can be worn low on your hips or high on your waist, depending on how fitted you would like the top of your dress to be.
Make your Skippy dress in a solid colour for a classic look, or mix and match prints and patterns for a more modern feel.
When you want to feel fabulous with minimal effort, just reach for your Skippy Dress. Its so soft and comfortable, you’ll forget just how great you look!
I know I say this a lot, but this is my absolute favourite dress pattern. I’ve made myself quite a few (can’t wait to share them with you very soon) and they are are on high rotation in my wardrobe. I love how comfortable it is to wear a knit dress. Because we are in the middle of Winter, I’ve mostly been wearing mine with leggings and boots but am looking forward to wearing Skippy as an easy Summery dress too when the weather warms up.
Skippy is all about options…I’ve included in the pattern three different sleeve lengths, as well as an optional cowl neck. This pattern is so versatile, once you start playing around mixing and matching fabrics and sewing different options you are faced with unlimited possibilities! I don’t want to bombard you with photos of all of the options today but stay tuned, I’ll be sure to share them with you over the next week.
Can we just stop and talk about this stunning model of mine for a minute? Louise is my cousin’s wife and a good friend of mine and I was so excited when she agreed to model this dress for me. She is the mother of four little boys under 7 years of age, she is the most gorgeous person you could ever meet and her personality is just as beautiful as her flawless exterior 🙂
If you’re feeling adventurous, why not take the Skippy pattern and use it to make a stretchy top or skirt? I haven’t tried this myself yet, but a few of my pattern testers have so I’ll work on a tutorial for that very soon!
To purchase a copy of Skippy, head over to my shop. For the next week, Skippy will be avaliable at a discounted price of just $10! (Sale ends on Wednesday 13th August.) Or if you prefer paper patterns, visit one of my lovely stockists to order a copy.
I hope you love Skippy as much as I do! And come back tomorrow for the next pattern release!
SUPPLIES: Make It Perfect, Skippy pattern European organic cotton jersey in dark smoke blue
