As promised, I am back to share another item I made for the start of school - in this case, for Maggie. This is the Citronille Suzanne dress (which I made in a tunic length due to fabric constraints). Citronille is a French pattern company with the most drool-worthy old-fashioned patterns for children. Some of the patterns are available in English versions, and you can also get additional patterns with translations included from Fiddlehead Artisan Supply. This pattern comes in an English version, but I ordered it from Fiddlehead to save myself the international shipping costs.
I had about one yard of this gorgeous Nani Iro "Poppy Trip" double gauze; maybe less because it shrank a bit in the wash. This lovely print runs up and down but it has a pretty green border along the selvedge. It is not a regular border print, because the border runs parallel to the print, which is a bit strange. I was able to squeeze this little tunic out of the fabric I had with only small scraps leftover. This pattern comes in sizes 2, 4, 6, and 8. I made the size two. With that wide neckline, it makes sense to go down a size when in doubt, to avoid the shoulders falling down the arms.
This pattern is dead simple. The instructions are basic, and there is no mention of finishing seams. As written, the yoke is simply hemmed along the top, and the sleeves are hemmed along the shoulder line, so that there is just one layer of fabric all around the neckline, if that makes sense. Like this:
The basic construction is part of the charm of this pattern, of course - it has a very folkwear vibe. But I could not resist complicating it significantly! I wanted the insides to look nice and finished and I decided to really step things up by using the border of the Nani Iro to embellish the neckline of the dress.
I lined the yoke pieces with muslin, since the double gauze is quite sheer, and applied the trim around the neck as a reverse facing, basically, machine sewing it to the shoulders and bottom yoke, and then hand stitching it in place. This makes the inside of the dress much cleaner and more comfortable. Having hand stitched the neckline, of course I had to hand-hem the sleeves and skirt! Double gauze is so easy to hand-sew invisibly, because you can pick up only the underlayer of gauze.
This pattern has no back or front! It's the same both ways! Of course double gauze gathers beautifully and hangs so nicely so it suits a simple pattern like this perfectly.
Maggie recently got a haircut, at my insistence, since her long baby-fine hair was looking really scraggly along the ends. She got little bangs, and I love them! They swoop to the side and frame her sweet brown eyes. And her hair is still long enough to put in a ponytail or little braids, but looks much better down now. Yay for less maintenance!
Maggie paired the tunic with some too-large Hanna Andersen shorts, which - with the bare feet - makes her look like a little hobbit to me! A regency hobbit! She hasn't worn this to school yet, but she really likes it so I think she'll get a lot of wear out of it! Although double-gauze is expensive, precious stuff, I try not to restrict the clothes I make to "nice occasions." We don't have that many nice occasions, and I'd rather see clothes worn and loved.
My final review of this pattern? I think it's cute, but it is so basic, I don't know how much I will use it. The lack of nice finishing bugs me a bit, and I can't imagine sewing it as instructed - I think I would always line the yoke and at least use bias tape to finish the shoulders. That said, what a perfect pattern for a brand new beginner to sewing! I am considering tracing it off for my own use (I don't need instructions for something like this!) and giving my copy away to a friend who is just learning to sew. For being so fast and simple, it really is a pretty dress! Citronille patterns are so pretty to look at, and they do sew up very nicely, but they do not have the attention to detail and thorough instructions I've come to expect from Oliver + s and other modern indie patterns. Sewing with Citronille is more like sewing with vintage patterns - basic sewing knowledge is assumed and information about nice finishing (understitching, for example) is often not included. That said, you couldn't ask for prettier designs! They really are so special and pretty.
I am going to make at least one more item for Maggie for this new school year, and then I need to work on several gifts. So you'll be hearing from me again soon! Do you do back to school sewing for your kids?