Saturday, August 24, 2013

CC Sophie with Family Reunion Dress Sleeves

CC Sophie with Oliver+S Family Reunion Sleeves

I love "Sophie" by Children's Corner.  It is a cute summer dress with great details and a mature look.  I wanted to extend my daughter's wearing of this dress into the fall or early spring (plus, many places in Houston are very air-conditioned.)  Adding a sleeve seemed to be a great answer.  One of my favorite "girly" sleeves is from Oliver+S Family Reunion Dress.  Both of these patterns are very similar, but as my daughter gets older, I like the waist details on the Children's Corner dress over the A-line of the Oliver+S dress.  Could I add the sleeve to "Sophie"?  

Back view of Sophie

Pattern:
Children's Corner "Sophie" 
(This pattern seems a little more generous in the bodice than other CC patterns.)
Oliver+S Family Reunion Dress Sleeve 

Fabric:
Mint green brushed twill from Fabric Finders (?)
Raspberry petite piping from Children's Corner

Bodice Details of Sophie

Constructions Details:

1.  Be very careful measuring and marking the pleats.  You will be so happy you took the time to do it correctly.  I really like doing the pleats before I cut out the yoke, just like the pattern directions steps you through.  
2.  Hand baste the round yoke down before sewing.  Do not skip this step and just pin. The round yoke lays beautifully without twists or distortions if hand basted.
3.  See my pictures below for the front yokes of both dresses.  I drafted a little more in the shoulder and a little higher under the arm for the new bodice pattern piece.  (Same for the back.)  I used the FRD sleeve pattern without any changes.
4.  Don't just mark and sew the back belt without measuring your girl.  I had plenty of belt and not much girl.  I moved the buttons to make it stay at her waist.

Sophie and FRD laid on top of each other.  Very similar bodice pieces.
Shoulder detail of what I added to Sophie Bodice compared to FRD below the Sophie pattern.

Underarm detail of what I added to Sophie bodice compared to FRD below the Sophie pattern.




3 comments:

  1. This is so clever!
    I love the new dress so much!
    And it looks so beautiful on her :-)

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  2. I adore this! When Family Reunion was first released, it immediately reminded me of CC Sophie which I love. I do like the silhouette of Sophie better, and just love CC patterns in general! I thought about adding some of the CC sleeves, but this is another fantastic way to do it. Thanks for the inspiration!
    Your daughter is just precious, as always!

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  3. You are doing a great job sewing for your daughter as she transitions into older styles! Love this dress.

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