Holiday Dresses For Girls

It’s always an interesting challenge to decide how to feature a new CME embroidery design collection. We went through several possibilities for ways to use the Christmas Cross Stitch designs before we settled on the baby girl holiday dress pattern we used for the Cross Stitch Cutie feature in the Nov/Dec 2017 issue. It turned out great — we think it’s the perfect holiday dress to wear while taking a photo with Santa.

The dress pattern is available for free on cmemag.com until December 31, 2017 (you can find it in shopsewitall.com afterward). Unfortunately, however, the dress only goes up to size 24 months, so I went on a hunt to find other dress pattern options that would fit older girls and would be suitable for the holidays (and any time of the year!)

The key to making this project work is to find a dress pattern with relatively simple lines. Yokes and defined bodices are great, as they provide a nice space for embroidery. Avoid designs with lots of construction details like pintucks and front plackets, as they get in the way of embroidery. Gathered skirts are fine (plan to put the embroidery at the hem in that case), but A-line skirts give the best space for adding embroidery. Skirts with large pleats can inspire interesting placement choices.

Take a look at some of the options I found:

This pillowcase dress might require a sweater for winter wear, but the hem band and pocket are great embroidery canvases. Find the Girl Power pattern here.

The simple lines of this sweet dress are perfect for this project. Add some holiday trim or baubles to the bodice for an extra touch. Find the Peasant Dress here.

This crisp sailor dress’s statement pockets are great places for embroidery designs. Picture it in cranberry red or forest green with striking white embroidery. Find the Sailor Dress here.

This dress with its plain bodice and 3/4-length sleeves has lots of space for embroidery, and is dressed up with ruffle trim. Find the Ruffle Trim Dress here.

The silhouette of this dress is my idea of the perfect girl’s party dress. The pleats are large enough to carry smaller embroidery designs on top, or put them on the hem where the petticoat will make them stand out. Find the Pleated Skirt Dress here.

The bow on this dress is a sweet detail that won’t get in the way of embroidery on the yoke or skirt. Find the Bow and Pleat Dress here.

 This is one of the BurdaStyle patterns that are being offered through Sprout patterns. We’ve tried adding embroidery inside the pleat, on the solid color, and it’s adorable! Buy the pattern here, already printed on Spoonflower fabric that you choose yourself. Also look for the Pleated A-Line dress from the same collection. The pleats make embroidery at the top difficult, but the hem is a great embroidery canvas! Find it here.

Don’t forget to download the Small Snowflake 2 design free from cmemag.com/freebies until December 31. The rest of the designs can be found on shopsewitall.com.