Girl's Nightgown Pattern - Unicorn Bellamy Edition

As I started writing this post, I realized that I sewed this unicorn nightgown for Hattie exactly three months ago, for her 6th birthday (still wondering how my baby is 6). Since then I’ve sewn a number of other things for my girls that also haven’t shown up here yet, so I figured I better get to it! I used our favorite girl’s nightgown pattern, the Bellamy Nightgown pattern, and as you’ll see below, Hattie’s favorite furry friend got a matching unicorn nightgown of her own.

Hattie spotted the JoAnn unicorn fabric (from the Doodles line) several months before I sewed it up, and I couldn’t resist her request to buy it. It’s just so darling, isn’t it? I knew it would be a perfect pairing for the Bellamy Nightgown pattern, and it’s a cotton spandex interlock fabric that is super soft and cozy.

The fabric doesn’t have great stretch recovery, but is stable at the same time, so the only change I would have made (and did make with another Bellamy I’ll share soon using similar fabric) was to shorten the neckband length a little to keep it as snug as intended. It wears just fine as is, but a bit tighter neckline is my preference.

I’ve also heard that Doodles fabric has a tendency to shrink a lot, so I pre-washed it several times before cutting the girl’s nightgown pattern pieces out and it hasn’t had any further shrinkage.

Being a girls knit nightgown pattern, my girls love wearing their Bellamy Nightgowns from evening to day to evening again, hehe. Basically until I make them take them off. They love to sleep in them, play in them, dance in them, and, of course, do lots of twirling.

To make it more socially acceptable to wear the pattern 24 hours a day, a couple years ago I made a dress version that was the simplest hack ever of just omitting the sleeve gathering, and you’d never guess it was a nightgown pattern but still has all the comfort and twirl factor. Also, that little face (insert heart eye emojis)!

As summer was on the way when I sewed up this Bellamy Nightgown, I opted for short sleeves and knee length. This knit nightgown pattern for girls also includes sleeveless and long sleeves, as well as a maxi length option, which is probably my girls favorite to wear, even when it’s hot! They still wear this maxi length nightgown that is two years old, although now it’s more of a midi length ;).

Hattie was given her unicorn friend, “Uni,” by a cousin for Christmas last year and as they are usually inseparable, I couldn’t resist surprising her with a matching nightie for Uni. And then, as it goes when you’re sewing late at night, I also thought her other and much tinier unicorn friend, “Pearls,” needed one as well. Both are simple peasant dress styles, and Uni’s nightgown is a hack of our Polly Peasant Dress Pattern. I wanted it to come on and off easy, and knew the elastic neckline and flowy body would work well for that.