Striped Girls Hoodie Dress-McCalls 6785

I'm a selfish sewer. Though I do sew for hire and for friends and family on occasion, I enjoy sewing for myself most, if I'm being honest. That said my second favorite person to sew for is my stepdaughter, miss socialite. Mainly because she's a sweetie, my biggest fan/salesperson and she loves to "twin" (her term for match). More often than not if I'm sewing something for myself she wants one too and one for the doll (which is pushing it). Selfishly because there are always things I want to sew for myself or orders that need to be completed I don't sew for her as much as I should or even want. So during this holiday time I've started churning out some pieces just for her.

I call her miss socialite because she is one of those people, since I met her at the age of 5, who can make a friend in any setting. She's just a people person. Anytime I'm up at her school someone has to hug her, wave at her or shout her name. If she's in a program her friends clap the loudest. Her big personality and sweet spirit just attract friends. I can't even go the grocery store without her running into someone she know (granted it's across the street from the school, lol, but still). And it's not just kids, the adults feel the same, all her teachers love her as well. Anyway, my point is she's never met a stranger, hence miss socialite.

One of the first is this striped hoodie dress. Like I said miss socialite loves to twin so I've had plans to make this hooded dress since late last winter when I made my striped hoodie dress. I had to have my dress after seeing a black and white striped hooded dress on social media. I thought "I can make that" and I did. After finishing mine I meant to make her one but I had sewed mine up so late in the season that by the time I got around to hers it was starting to warm up. So I said to myself "next year".Thankfully, I had more than enough fabric left over because this beautiful sparkle striped ponte was a Fabric Mart Flash sale find and I bought four or five yards. I originally planned on using Simplicity 1023 for my mini version but found McCalls 6785 ,which is OOP, on ebay and thought this would be even better. Don't worry I'm sure I'll end up sewing S1023 at some point as I like it as well.I used View B which is described as a dress but looks more like a tunic on the cover. So I cut an 8 but a 14 length, though I ended up taking off 3 inches so the size 8 hem would've been fine. She's short for her age but I wanted to make sure that it could be worn with stockings as well as leggings.Miss socialite has been eager to learn to sew and I have showed her a few things, but have been far from consistent in teaching her. I said I was going to do better because she definitely wants to learn. She sewed the side seams of the body as well as attached the sleeves to the body. I pin it for her but I let her sew. She actually has very good control of the pedal but needs a little help keeping the line straight. Again she just needs more practice, but I think I'm going to buy her a magnetic seam allowance guide, heck I might use it too.[gallery ids="5829,5828" type="rectangular"]

This is what happened when I gave her the shutter remote! lol

I did the hood, the pocket and the hemming, but I'm sure she will tell people she made this dress and I will let her. I do plan on letting her sew something over Christmas all by herself. Hopefully I can control my need to fix her mistakes.Pattern: McCalls 6785Pattern Description: Pullover dresses have narrow hems. B: Pocket. A, B: Single-layer hood, wrong side shows. C: Double-layered collar. D: Neck band, and ties forms side drape. Leggings have elastic waist, no side seams, and narrow hem. E: Single-layer ruffles with raw edge finish. F: Appliqués.Sizing: 3-6, 7-14 I sewed an 8Difficulty: 2/easyFabric Used: Black and white sparkle ponte from Fabric Mart (last year sold out)Does it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope? YesWere the instructions easy to follow? VeryLikes: raglan sleeves, hoodDislikes: NonePattern alterations or any design changes made: noneWould I sew it again? Probably. I will probably sew view A next.Would I recommend it to others? DefinitelyConclusion: Easy dress pattern, she loves it.Price: 1-1/2 yards @ $2.99/yd = $4.49