Frugal Friday - Feminine Little Girl Dresses for About $6 or Less

My Frugal Friday Tip: With a bit of know-how bathed in prayer, you can make your daughter(s) long girly, feminine dresses for $6 and less that she/they will wear for at least a year and probably much longer.
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It's no secret I don't like most modern female fashion trends. I like little girl fashions with their thigh length dresses, low cut, bell bottom jeans and cartoon character logos even less. What's a mom who is trying to promote modesty and feminine dress in their daughter to do? In just a couple hours and for a few dollars, you can whip together dresses that your little princess will wear for awhile and look girly and feminine in the whole time.

The "Secret" $$ Factor

I talked about Sewing for Less awhile back. In that post I shared where to find the best prices on fabric, patterns and notions. The same suggestions apply to sewing for little girls. But THE Key Secret to finding any good deals is to pray and wait. God is gracious and loves us very much. I've found some dandy fabrics, notions and lace for incredible prices.

When sewing for little girls, you need a lot less of whatever you're using - that includes sewing time. When Ana was little, I could cut out and sew 3 dresses in about 4 hours. Bigger girl + Bigger dress = More time. Now it takes me about 2 hours per dress. Most little girl dresses only require 1-3 yards of fabric. Try to find patterns that use less. For trim, two yards will easily decorate the bottom hem of a dress and around the sleeves or neck, depending on the width of your skirt hem.

• Buy fabric from the discount table, clearance pile or remnants. Wait until discount and clearance fabrics goes on sale for the real deals. You will be able to find great fabric for 50¢ a yard or less. I've netted $10 a yard linen for less than a $1 a yard that way!
• When you find a good sale, buy enough of whatever for several dresses. Make hay while the sun shines. When you have the time to sew, you might not find a sale and vice versa.
• Don't overlook the cheaper bolt with just a pinch on it! A yard will make a dress for a toddler or add an extra half yard of a complementary fabric to make a little girl dress.
• Because little girls are so small, you can use 25¢-50¢ a yard - 1/4" wide lace and trim from the craft department. I've also found there is often a great selection of $1-$1.50 a yard laces in small widths, perfect for little girls. If I find basic eyelet laces at a good price, I often buy several yards (4 or more) in multiples of 2 yards. I use about 2 yards per dress.
• Buy roll ribbon on sale for 3 rolls for $1. Each 6+ yard roll can be used for 2 or 3 dresses.
• Skip the interfacing. Topstitch everything instead and/or use thin bias strips. I have never had a problem by not using it.
• Skip the lining unless it is a really "good" dress. Make facings or use bias strips for arm and neck openings. I can't tell you how many dresses I haven't lined that are perfectly nice.
• Reuse patterns multiple times, acquire some for free and inexpensively on sale or draft your own. The more you reuse a pattern, the lower your overall cost.
• Use classic patterns that offer the most flexibility and then vary your embellishments. Change the lace placement from around the hem to just the sleeve bands or around the neckline or on the front empire waist seam, add decorative buttons on the shoulder seam or front for a "button up" look, add ribbon to create bows or rosettes.
• Buy buttons in bulk and then use suitable ones for your current project. You can generally find bulk buttons in tubs or bags at your local fabric or craft store. I started my collection 18 years ago at a sewing outlet that sold them by the pound. I also pick up button cards in the clearance bin for a substantial discount.
• The item that can make or break the price of a dress, after the embellishments, is the zipper, if your pattern calls for one. Watch for sales and get them less expensively. Choose neutral colors like white, natural and black so you can buy in bulk when they are on sale. Order bulk online from wholesale places - that goes for thread too. Please don't buy cheap zippers! They will cost you more in the long run because you will have to frequently replace them. (I use Coats & Clark zippers and have never had a problem!)
• Use a shorter zipper. If your pattern calls for a 12" or 14" zipper, often times you can get away with a 7" or 9" zipper. The price difference will save you 10¢-25¢ or more.
• Replace the zipper all together with a placket and use buttons.

The Secret to Long Wearing Dresses

If I'm going to put the time into sewing a dress, I want Ariana to wear it for awhile. What I do to make a dress long wearing is cut the bodice two sizes larger, add side ties and make the skirt floor length. It might seem a bit odd, but it works! Ariana has 3 dresses I made for her in November 2005 that she is just now almost too big for.

In my experience with toddlers, it's their arms and legs that grow. My babies start out chubby and then thin out by the time they hit 3 or 3 1/2. I find their torsoes are as big at 18 months as they are at 3 years. If I cut the bodice out 2 sizes larger, there is the assurance that Ariana will be able to wear a dress for quite a while. At the recommendation of a friend, I started adding side ties to dress bodices to help take in the fullness of the larger bodice. It works like a charm!

Around here, we think there's nothing cuter than a little girl waltzing around in a floor length dress! As your daughter grows, the length of the skirt will shorten. By the time she's ready to outgrow the bodice, the skirt will probably be up to her knees and still modest! For those moms that might worry about the length, Ariana learned to pick up her skirts at an early age. She did it naturally. Long skirts have not been a tripping problem to her at all.

As a side note, when Ariana was a baby, I always put her in dresses that were several sizes "too big" so the skirt would be long enough. I started sewing for her when 3T and 4T dresses got too short. She never had any trouble learning to crawl or walk with longer skirt. She learned quickly how to move in them and get where she was going without any trouble. Wearing a skirt from a very early age removes the "I can't do xxx in a skirt" complaint. Ariana can do anything in a skirt and pantaloons!

The Dresses

If you don't see a picture with the description, look for a link that will take you to the dress photos and description. Unless otherwise noted, if there are two pictures of the same dress, the one on the left is a shot of the dress when it was first made. The one on the right is a photo snapped this morning.

Red Sunflower Dress. This dress is the very first dress I made for Ariana when I started sewing in November 2005. I snapped this picture this morning. It still fits! It's a little tight to wiggle into and a bit short, but once on, she can still wear it and does! When I made it, the skirt hit the floor and she looked so cute.

There were three dresses in the first batch I made for Ariana. The pattern is an original 1950s my aunt gave me. I squeaked them out of 1 yard of fabric and 2 or 3 buttons. I purchased the fabric at Wal-Mart for $2 a yard. It has 3 buttons on the back that were pulled from my button stash.
Total Cost: Approximately $2.10

Anti-Marilla Dress. This winter I whipped up the Anti-Marilla Dress out of the same 1950s pattern. I wanted to experiment with a good quality flannel to see if it would pill or stay nice and soft, so this dress is more than my usual cost. I picked up the fabric as a remnant at the good fabric store for about $3 a yard. I used about 2 yards. (I don't remember either price or yardage exactly.) The cotton lace was $1.50 a yard and I used about 2.5 yards. It has a zipper in the back and 3 self-fabric buttons on the front. The cost could be cut significantly with a less expensive fabric or lace.
Total Cost: Approximately $12

Blue Plaid Matching Mommy Dress. I made this dress in March 2006. The main body fabric was picked up for $1 a yard. The linen collar was a scrap from my dress. The buttons are from my button stash. The dress has a zipper and I picked up the pattern on sale for 99¢. I've used the pattern 3 or 4 times. In order the get the skirt that long, I added about 6 inches to the bottom of the original pattern.
Total Cost: Approximately $4.25

Simple Pink Posies. This dress is just a front piece, back piece and facings. It's inspired by an Elizabeth Lee design. $1 a yard classic Wal-Mart clearance table fabric in a cotton-poly blend. I made 4 or 5 of these dresses. They whip up quickly and wear well. Ariana would still be wearing it, but the neck is now too small to get her head through.
Total Cost: Approximately $1

Ladies' Brunch Dress. This one took 3 yards of $2 a yard fabric. 25¢ pattern from the out of print pattern bin.
Total Cost: Approximately $6.25

Easter Dress 2007. Ariana's Easter Dress took about 2 1/2 yards of fabric. It was from Grandma's stash, but otherwise I would have gotten $1 or $2 a yard fabric from somewhere or used something from my stash for 50¢ a yard or less. The lace was off a roll of 6 yards for $2. I used about 15 inches.
Total Cost: Approximately $2; With $2 a yard fabric estimate: $ 7

Thanksgiving Dress 2005. The dress below was the first dress we made from the Easter Dress 2007 pattern. My mom got the itch to make Ariana a dress out of some stash fabric. My grandmother picked it before she died. It's a calico and they probably bought it on sale for $1.50 or $1.99 a yard when Joann Fabric still offered calico that cheap. The dress has a zipper up the back and decorative machine stitching around the neck.
Total Cost: Approximately $5

With a bit of poking and creativity, you can make great dresses for your daughter(s) inexpensively! They make great projects for beginning sewers because they go together fast and require little fitting experience. If you've always wanted to sew, I encourage you to jump right in and try!

Don't forget to visit Biblical Womanhood for more Frugal Friday tips!