DIY Christmas Dress for Girls: Tartan Dress from a Free Pattern

How I turned a basic kids' dress pattern with set-in sleeves into an oversized Christmas tartan dress for my daughter, with dropped shoulders, wide sleeves, a ruffle collar and a ruffled skirt. I used a free Vikisews pattern, but you can hack your own basic pattern for non-stretch fabrics the same way.

Why hack a basic dress pattern

Once you know how to change a basic pattern, one free pattern gives you many different dresses. This one became a cosy, festive Christmas dress in tartan, with room for a long-sleeve top underneath.

How I changed the pattern for a Christmas dress

• Dropped shoulders: I extended the shoulder line by 4 cm (0.5 cm down at the end), lowered the armhole and made the front bodice 1 cm wider.
• A neckline 0.5 cm lower, because my daughter wears a long-sleeve top underneath.
• Wider sleeves: I split the sleeve into five parts and spread them, lowered the sleeve head by 4 cm, and added 3 cm at the sides and 6 cm in length. Check the sleeve against the armhole: the difference can be 10–14 cm.
• Ruffles: I made a test bodice, drew the ruffle lines on it at the fitting, and transferred them to the pattern. My ruffle is 5 cm wide; the bottom ruffle is 16 cm high and 1.75 times the width, and the collar ruffle uses the same pattern piece, trimmed.
• Size: by her bust measurement my daughter was a size 122, but I used size 134.
• Lesson learned: when I raised the front by 4 cm, the dress became shorter than planned. Add that length back to the ruffle.

What I used for the Christmas dress

• Free Vikisews Darya pattern a kids' dress, A4 PDF
• Tartan cotton from Ribes & Casals (rycfabrics.com), a Spanish online fabric shop Find it ↗
• French curve ruler or use the armhole's seam allowance as a guide Find it ↗
• Janome 2030 DC sewing machine Find it ↗
• Singer Heavy Duty 4432 sewing machine Find it ↗