Today we're thrilled to welcome back Deb, who previously shared her creative transformation of the Secret Agent Trench Coat into a lab coat. Known as "MyNorth" on Flickr, Deb is affectionately called "Moms" to her three children and "Mamaw" to her two grandchildren. She resides in a cozy cottage by a lake in Ontario, Canada, where she spends her time diving into her ever-growing sewing stash. Deb has crafted at least one version of each of the 47 Oliver + S patterns, along with all five free patterns! She stopped by today to share her favorite among them.
When asked about my favorite Oliver + S pattern for the "Favorite Pattern" post on the blog, I immediately responded that the Bubble Dress tops my list. In truth, every single Oliver + S pattern holds a special place in my heart. I own them all and have sewn them all—including the free downloads. It's just that the Bubble Dress has become my go-to pattern when I'm looking to whip up something quick, fun, and suitable for any occasion.
I adore the capped sleeves and bodice. They're versatile enough to pair with almost any dress style. The same applies to the bubble skirt portion—it complements virtually any bodice design.
As for fabric choices, pretty much anything works with this pattern. From quilting cottons to wool, designer fabrics, and even home decor materials—big prints or small, they all look great. Over the years, I've made at least a dozen of these dresses, and to showcase their versatility, I churned out another eight.
All the dresses (with the exception of two) are size 5, which is slightly large on our model. However, given her recent hearty appetite, we anticipate a growth spurt soon.
When I stumbled upon this summery border print cotton fabric, I knew instantly that the border section would be perfect for the bubble skirt, while the less-patterned part worked beautifully for the bodice. I accented the neckline, sleeves, and waistline with mauve piping, and voila—Sweet Petunia now has the ideal summer party dress.
Since I love the bodice and sleeve details, I've paired them with various skirt styles, even lengthening the bodice section. First up, the Bubble Dress meets the Fairy Tale Dress. For this dress, I overlaid the Bubble dress bodice pattern pieces onto the Fairy Tale bodice pattern pieces to trace and create new sleeve and length patterns. I added a Peter Pan collar to this dress. Constructing the bodice involved following the Bubble dress instructions, stitching the neck and sleeve linings and outer fabrics together, then referring to the Fairy Tale instructions. Inserting the zipper was a bit tricky, but entirely doable. The hem is folded twice and stitched about 3cm (or an inch) below the fold, creating a tiny tuck. As for hand-stitching, I'm afraid I don't have the time—I've got plenty of machine sewing to catch up on!
Given the importance of the twirl factor in our little Sweetie Pie's dress preferences, the next dress features a circle skirt attached to the Bubble Dress bodice, which I lengthened. The fabric is polyester, and it reminds me of the dress I wore for my grade 8 graduation—mine was yellow with a lace strip down the front, so I added a similar lace strip to hers.
Continuing with the bodice-lengthening theme, I created a dropped waist version and attached it to a two-tiered skirt. This dress is size 6, as I used an existing long-waisted pattern piece and added the Bubble-style sleeve section. While it's a bit big on her right now, after a few washes and trips through her mom's dryer, it'll fit perfectly. A ruffle runs down the front bodice, created by making a fabric tube, running a basting thread along the middle, and pulling it to create a gathered effect. I stitched several bright orange buttons down the front. Using the free Bucket Hat pattern, I made her a matching hat with orange polka dot lining.
Last month, our little Princess was invited to a "Frozen" themed party but only had a well-worn Cinderella dress to wear. Irony at its finest, right? Anyway, to avoid any more princess wardrobe mishaps, she now has an Elsa "Frozen" themed dress. The bodice is blue satin, and the skirt is long but not excessively so, preventing her from tripping over the hem. The skirt has two layers—the lining is inexpensive cotton, while the outer fabric is lace-like with some sparkle and raised shiny threads. Perfect costume fabric.
I also made her a matching cape using the same lace fabric as the outer skirt section. The cape pattern in *Little Things To Sew* is an excellent choice.
Our Elsa insisted on having her photo taken at my neighbor's studio gallery, which looks exactly like a castle, to officially welcome everyone to her kingdom.
The bubble skirt section of this dress is delightful. It can be as puffy or subtle as you desire, adding an element of elegance. Thinking of elegance, the little black dress and haute couture, I channeled Coco Chanel for the next dress. I used a waist-length bodice pattern with long sleeves and attached it to the bubble skirt. The fabric is dark navy wool blend, and the sleeve cuffs are white satin, reminiscent of Coco's white bracelets. The bodice lining is cotton, and the bubble skirt lining is Bemberg. Coco Chanel's images always show her adorned with plenty of pearls, so for my little Coco, I bought a meter of plastic pearls from the fabric store, made three strands, and added a jewelry charm letter "C," which also happens to be her first initial.
My daughter loves children's clothes from the "G ending with ee" store. My Moriarty. Last Christmas, she spotted a gem-studded dress from that store and insisted I make one identical to it. I found some similar fabric in the drapery section of a fabric store, purchasing it for $6.00. A few days later, she called to say that dress went on sale for $16.00—a bargain in her eyes—so she bought it. Since I already had the fabric, I decided to make the dress anyway, despite it being a duplicate. I added the gems exactly as shown on their website. Working with this type of fabric was challenging—it frays and pulls terribly and feels rubbery. I serged the raw edges to prevent fraying, but when it came to gathering the bubble skirt section (using a zigzag stitch over thin crochet cotton instead of basting), the pressure foot pushed the gathers forward. The neckline, sleeves, and waistline are accented with leftover satin piping.
I've seen Bubble Dresses made from luxurious designer fabrics, but since such fabrics aren't available at my local store, I picked up some orchid crinkled dupioni-looking fabric with silver bling accents for about the price of a deli sandwich to make another dress. This fabric would be perfect for cushions or bedroom drapes, but I suspect a 5-year-old will think it's the epitome of princess fashion. Having learned from my last experience with home dec fabric, this time I opted for pleats instead of gathering the skirt section. The lining is inexpensive cotton from my stash, and the piping is made from a package of silver bias binding with cotton knitting yarn as the filler.
In addition, knowing the Bubble Dress only goes up to size 5, I attempted to redraft the pattern to size 6. By estimating the distance between the size 4 and size 5 tracing lines, I guessed what the equivalent distance might be for size 6. Though I have no formal pattern-drafting training, I believe my method isn't far off.
The fullness of the fabric and the tucks made the skirt extra poofy—fun! Paired with sparkly silver stockings and perhaps a sparkly silver shrug, this dress will be perfect for the holiday season next year.
So there you have it—my reasons why the Bubble Dress is my favorite go-to pattern. It's sweet on its own or can easily be transformed into whatever you or your little Sweet Pea desires. I still plan to make more Bubbles, adding big side pockets or inset pockets to the skirt, color-blocking both the bodice and skirt, and turning the bodice into a sundress style. The possibilities are endless—and so is my stash.
On my Bubble Dress Pinterest board, you'll find examples of the Bubble dresses I've made, some made by others, plus inspiration for making other "Flipped" Bubble dresses.
Thank you so much, Deb, for all the inspiration!
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