A Pretty in Peplum Christmas Dress

Girl's Christmas Dress Pattern

Today’s posts are by far my favorite of the year! Each year I spend way to much time daydreaming about my kids’ Christmas outfits, picking out the perfect fabrics, sewing everything, and then finally photographing it all! This year got a little extra complicated because I decided to add my husband and I into the photos (normally I let us off the hook at Christmas time but it had been over three years since our last whole-family photos), but we did it! And phew, I’m glad it’s done ;).

Since there’s a lot to share, I’m dividing up the girls’ dresses into separate posts (click to read all about Lola’s Ainsley Pinafore Dress and hacked Pretty in Peplum Top), and the boys’ into a post of their own as well (hop over there to see our family photo!). So this post is all about my sweet Hattie and the gold dress I made her using our Pretty in Peplum Dress pattern.

But before we get started, my Christmas outfits post wouldn’t be complete without a fun flashback to the last few years! One of the best things about being a blogger is all the photos that come along with it – it’s crazy to see how my kids have changed!

2017 

2016 here, here, and here

2015 here and here

2014 here, here, here, and here

2013

2012

Okay, back to 2018 and Hattie’s dress… I originally had plans to make a Magrath Dress for Hattie with some changes, but when I saw this gold knit (the photos don’t quite do the color and shimmer justice) from Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, I couldn’t stop thinking about it! I didn’t change my plan right away, but after a couple weeks of it still being on my mind, I decided to go for it and I’m so glad I did! It also happened to go perfectly with the blue velvet boots Lola wore for last year’s pics from Old Navy (this year they had these similar ones).

Girl's Christmas Dress Pattern

It’s a super stable knit, so it makes the peplum really stand out which makes the design even more fun!

Girl's Christmas Dress Pattern

Hattie’s sizing is a spot on size 5, so I didn’t need to make any sizing adjustments to the pattern. I went with the long sleeved version since I knew it would be chilly for photos, and I think it adds to the formal look too which I love.

Girl's Christmas Dress Pattern

This dress project helped me discover my love for my sewing machine’s stretch stitch. I was hesitant to use my coverstitch because I wanted a more subtle stitch, and the stretch stitch was so perfect! I’ve found that when it’s used on heavier knits, the narrow zig zags for the stretch stitch look like a straight stitch, and I ended up using it on Lola’s top as well instead of my coverstitch.

Girl's Christmas Dress Pattern

It seemed a little counter intuitive to put Hattie in the more lady-like dress and Lola in the more girl dress this year, but when each girl saw their dress, they shrieked with joy and both said they liked their own dress the best, so I’ll call that a win!

Girl's Christmas Dress Pattern

I love that this peplum dress pattern is lady-like and can be formal looking but still is comfortable for little ones to wear because of the knit fabric. Hattie had no trouble engaging in her usual antics ;).

Girl's Christmas Dress Pattern Girl's Christmas Dress Pattern Girl's Christmas Dress Pattern

As I was looking at previous years’ photos, I realized this is the third year I’ve used the Pretty in Peplum as my girls’ Christmas dress pattern! I hope I’ll get to use it a few more times as they keep growing, too!

Girl's Christmas Dress Pattern

You can find the Pretty in Peplum Dress Pattern (it includes a top version too!) here!

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