Made By Rae: Tea Cup Flutter Dress

I don’t sew for my niece as often as she would like. She usually requests that I make her a new dress every week, but the truth is she is lucky if she gets a new one every three months. This dress was sewn at the beginning of summer, but luckily it is one of those dresses that looks great over a shirt, which means even though the temperature has dropped here (a total shocker, by the way), she can rock this look through every season. Let’s talk sewing.

I used the flutter dress pattern by Made by Rae. The dress skirt is lined and gathered, with a simple tie closure at the shoulder. The designer has a great sew-along on creative bug, and the pattern is free for creative bug members. The pattern is only available in two sizes, 0 and 3. I cut the size 3 and graded up half an inch, and I lengthened the hem about an inch. The dress design is beginner-friendly, and it doesn’t require any additional notions such as zippers or buttons. After I finished the dress, I discovered that the front bodice fit perfectly, but the back bodice was too big. Which means I could have cut the back bodice as a size three and the front bodice with the graded piece. To fix the gaping, I added one pleat at the center of the back bodice. After I finished the pleat, I decided to sew buttons on the pleat to look like a button placket. I used the same red crepe for this dress that I used for my culottes. I got a new sewing/embroidery machine in the spring, and this applique patch was one of my test projects. I made it using felt as the base. You can find the embroidery design here.

My niece wore this look to celebrate her 5th Birthday, and she danced the entire time I took photos. Quite frankly, I can think of no better compliment than her expression of happiness through dance.