A Summer Dress
Pattern and Template
I’ve drawn up a pattern for a Hitty summer dress – based on one I made for Min a long while ago, but expanded to fit a Hitty…
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Positioning
…because a friend found a scrap of Liberty fabric when she was shopping in Alaska! The template shows what will be visible once the bodice is cut out and sewn and helps with positioning the bodice. I trace the shape with a Frixion pen, the pink colour disappears when it is ironed!
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Diagonal
I positioned the cut-out dress bodice fabric upside down, and diagonal to the lining fabric…
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First stitching
…and then stitched with a 1/8 inch seam from back waist, up the back opening, around the neckline and back down to the waistline again…
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snip and clip
…then snipped off the top corners of the back opening, and clipped the seam allowance at the curve of the neckline…
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right side out
…after which I turned the bodice right side out, before trimming the lining fabric to the shape of the bodice.
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side and sleeves
I stitched the side and sleeve seams in one seam, incorporating both the lining and the dress fabric. Then thumbnail-pressed the seam open and overcast the raw edges to the lining. This finishes the bodice.
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Back opening
After cutting out the rectangle for the dress skirt, I hemmed the back opening by turning over the raw edge twice, and seaming it flat…
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gather and stitch
…then gathered the waist edge, and stitched it to the bodice with a back stitch.
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Gather and stitch
I trimmed the waist seam, and then overcast it to the lining to neaten the raw edge.
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Overcast centre back
Some Hitty dresses are open all the way down the back but I like to overcast the centre back edges together: starting about 1 1/2 inches/4cm down from the waist and down to the hem. When it is stitched together it is easily opened and flattened with an iron, or by thumb pressing.
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hem
Finally hem the dress to the length you like…
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nearly done
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fastening
…add fastenings…
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fit
…do them up…
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Summer!
…there! A sweet cool dress for summer.
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Quimper Hittys 
Yes indeed, it is a sweet cool dress for summer. Your dear Hitty looks so summery in it. It is beautifully done, Kjerstin. Thank you for taking the time to make a step by step tutorial.
Thanks so much! Viola is glad to have a nice cool dress, it has been hotter than usual for the last few days!
Dear Kjerstin, Your directions on making a Hitty dress are very clear. After sewing ten “signatures” together to make 40 bound pages for each tiny book, I probably could follow your instructions and sew a dress myself. But I leave that to you ladies. I’ve too many things on my plate that more than occupy my time and consume my energy!
Soon I hope to get together with Tracey Knight (“Meeker” before he could marry his companion, Ron) to have him iron and fluff out the layers of Lady Frances’s costume. And I’ll consult with him about the pros and cons of having him make her a thin wig.
I’m still exhausted after my 18-day high intensity trip. I am OLD!
Love, Bill
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What fun to be making Tiny Books – Hope you are recovering now after all that amusement, and it’s very good to hear of the further adventures of Lady Frances!
Such fun, and adorable fussy cutting to get the mouse centred on the bodice!
It was a very cute mouse – well deserving of being “Front and Centre”!
Love this little summer dress. The fabric is magic. What a marvelous find.
My friend has an excellent eye for Liberty! Who would ever have thought of finding Tana Lawn in Alaska!?
Lovely tutorial for a darling dress. Viola must be very pleased indeed. Thanks so much for sharing!
Viola is pleased…it is nice for her to be the recipient of a new pretty dress!
thanks for taking the time to set up and photograph the tutorial, using the bodice template to center the mouse is perfect. Viola’s hair is sweet, the pattern on the dress fabric is perfect for her.
You are very welcome…Isn’t the fabric wonderful? I have very discerning friends!
Beautiful! And a great tutorial – it’s not easy sewing on such a small scale!
It can be tricky! We have learned lots of shortcuts, and try to share them!
What a sweet summer dress. We love it. The print is awesome also.
We loved the print – our friend was very thoughtful to collect it for us while she was on holiday in Alaska!
Kjerstin, can you share the measurement of one of the pattern pieces, so I can make sure it prints at the right scale? Sorry if I missed it somewhere.
I am eager to use this pattern! Will be a change from my inset sleeve pattern! A new look for my girls. Thank you for the very precise and clear directions!!
I hope it works for you! You may need to adjust for a stouter, or slenderer Hitty, but it is pretty versatile!