Merav of Baby Hobbes Design is back with Part II of her take on the new Sally dress, this time with long sleeves. Sally is the perfect year round dress and super simple for the beginner sewist. We hope you give her a try and don’t forgot to share your creations with us on Facebook and Instagram!

Sally Part II, Long Sleeves for the Win

I am so happy to be back with part II of the Sally Dress tour, and this time I am here to share with you an easy trick for a year-round dress. I am always in the market for new and easy beginner patterns-and, as we discussed in last week’s post, Sally is just that! But how about Sally with sleeves?

I adore the tank style, pull-over Sally dress! Here in the Windy City, we are still in LONG sleeves for a few more months. And a versatile pattern means ‘A Win’ for me-to sew year round.

This week I let Hobbes play around with my beautiful Sis Boom fabric collection, and I was in heaven when she pulled out Caravelle Arcade’s Jessica in Blue and Beauty Queen’s Katie stripe in Pink. My head (and heart) went straight into Valentines mode, and we decided this will be her dress for our big Valentines fundraiser next month.

You are going to love how easy it is to take Sally and change her up to meet the demand of the weather. To achieve this look, you will need the Gabriella Fae pattern for its bodice and sleeves. Also, if you are a sucker for lace like me, check out my November Blog here for adding these pretty darling details.

Once you have both the Sally and Gabriella Fae bodice pieces cut out to size, go ahead and follow the steps here in order to change the arm cycle of Sally to adjust for the sleeves.

Looking at the pictures above, from left to right. First, cut your pattern size in both dress bodice to size. Next, lay the Gabriella Fae front bodice on top of the Sally front bodice. Match the shoulders at the arm cycle edge. For this quick transformation, I am not changing anything else in the pattern–just the curve of the arm. As you can see, I shaded/colored in the difference in arm curve directly on the Sally for easy cutting. Once you have your markings on the front (repeat with the back bodice), go ahead and cut off the markings so your Sally can accept Gabriella Fae sleeves.
***Please note that you can do this trick with most of your patterns. Always remember to change the arm-cycles and note the difference in the shoulder alignment.

Next, sew your sleeves. You may choose to follow the Gabriella Fae directions to add your sleeves. Because I have experience sewing that pattern, I decided to change it up a bit and add a pleat at the top shoulder instead of a gathered puff. I’ll be honest, it was an experiment, but I had nothing to lose–it’s all in the pinning.

It’s so easy to add this small detail. First, fold your sleeve in half and stick a pin in the top middle. Then, starting from the edge, pin your sleeve to the bodice until you are at the halfway point/reached your shoulder seam on the bodice. Then move to the other side of the sleeve, starting from that end, pinning till you reach the middle of the bodice.

Looking at the pictures above, from left to right: grab your excess sleeve material in the center (bout 3-3,5 inches) and make sure that the sleeve is pinned perfectly up to the shoulder seams. Next, you will want to flatten the access sleeve and perfectly align it with the center seam on the shoulder. Pin in down and check it on both sides to make sure the pleat center is aligned with shoulder seam. Once you are happy, sew it up to the bodice.

Once you have added on your sleeve, continue with the Sally directions. Just remember when you are sewing your front and back bodice closed, you are starting at the sleeves and sewing down.

And that’s how I got Hobbes this new Sally. It’s an easy beginner, pullover darling dress pattern.Now show me how you transform your Sally dress. Get your copy of Sally and Gabriella Fae here.

Special thanks to my talented friend Julie over at the Little Sparrow Bows for her perfectly made to match hair halo.

Like my backdrop? Temperatures have been in the teens here and I just didn’t have the heart to ask Hobbes to pose outside. Loving my new Big Time Prints (formally Bubblegum Backdrops) for a quick and warm photo-shoot.

Till next time, happy sewing!
~Merav @ Baby Hobbes Design