Elke Dress by My Childhood Treasures

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There's just something warm and cozy about a dress made from sweatshirt fabric or fleece. If you live in places that are starting to get a chill in the air (or freeze!) this may be just the dress you're looking for to keep your little one toasty when the winter winds blow. I'll leave it to Kara and Larissa to tell you more about the stylish Elke Dress pattern from My Childhood Treasures.
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Can I just start by saying I love this dress (Elke Dress)?  I do!  So much.  It meets all of my criteria:  easy, cute, not frilly, doesn't take a lot of fabric and has a collar.  I don't really have a list of criteria, but those are awesome things about the pattern.

Break it down:

  • sizes 1-10
  • fabric suggestions
  • explanation of types of knits
  • fabric requirements
  • stretch guide
  • printing and assembly instructions with diagram
  • 20 pages to print
  • cutting guide
  • sewing with stretch fabric guide

I think the Elke Dress took me 30 minutes to sew.  It is so fast and easy and I think it is just adorable.

The instructions are straightforward and easy to understand.  It is a very simple dress that makes a big impact.  

I love the simplicity.  I used what was listed as a sweatshirt fleece but I would call this more of a sweater knit.  It isn't thick enough to be sweatshirt fleece but is thicker than regular cotton/spandex knit.  It's very stretchy and perfect for this project.

Enjoy!

XOXO,

Kara

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Hi! I am Larissa, a homeschooling, work from home momma of two kids, an (almost) 12 year old girl and an 18 month old boy. Between playgroups, homeschooling, swim class, and Kung Fu lessons, I like to get some sewing in. I own Ellie's Trunk on Facebook and Etsy. Today, I have the Elke Dress sewn up in fleece for my daughter. She picked up this fox fleece months ago and has been hoarding it for just the right project. As soon as I showed her the pattern, she brought it, along with a solid blue, out and told me "This is the dress". How could I disappoint?

This pattern is perfect for beginners wanting to play with knits. The directions are very straight forward with pictured of each step. It included a measurement chart, fabric requirements, and a cutting layout. The pattern prints out on 20 pages for the largest sizes. I would have loved to have a measurement chart for the rectangular pieces for the bow rather than printing them.

I love that I can quickly make a fleece dress with no zippers, buttons, or plackets! The fabric choices for this mean that I can make dozens of these and they will all look different! A warm cozy fleece one for the cold days of winter or a stretch velour and dress it up! You can leave the bow off for a different look as well!

This dress took me about 2 hours (interrupted of course) to complete. I would guess the second one will take less than that! If you have a child that naps for at least 2 hours (unlike my toddler!), this is a perfect naptime project!