Rosh Hashana Dress for your Princess

For Rosh Hashana this year, I sewed a dress for my daughter, using a Simplicity 8488 pattern. The pattern is actually for nightgowns, but like the women's nightgown pattern which I adapted as a blouse, I decided to adapt this one for a child.

This pattern has a straight yoke and gathered front piece.  The dress I made has long sleeves much like in view D (see the girl with the teddy bear), except that it is longer to be a dress, and it also has a gathered waist section, using elastic thread.

The neckline, of course, has to be modest, and I chose to add a mock neckband to it. The sleeves are gathered 2 inches above the hem.

Since the dress is for Rosh Hashana, it has to have a compatible theme.  The fabric is printed cotton knit with apples, apples and apples!   What I love about this dress, besides the apple print, is the high quality interlock cotton knit that I purchased from Chez Ami, in addition to elastic thread and the lettuce-edge hem at the sleeves and dress.  I just love my Brother Serger for the ability to do the lettuce-edge narrow hem.  Visit my Sewing Library for hand-selected items that will help you love sewing!

Butterick 5356 Pattern Adaptation

I love blouses with yoke.  I think they are so modest and elegant.  Here is one pattern from Butterick 5356 which I've adapted to fit Jewish modesty standards. In this pattern, the yoke is together with the sleeve as one piece.  The front piece below the yoke is gathered at the center and assembled together with the yoke. The back blouse is not gathered below the yoke.

You have a choice of sleeve styles.  The sleeve in the "pink" blouse is a tad too short for me, and quite wide, so I have a choice of narrowing the sleeves by gathering the hem and then attaching a cuff to it.  The neckline is obviously too wide as you can see the collar bone and the shoulder.  To be Jewishly modest according to Halacha, I chose to add a neckband to it.

In addition, the pattern does not call for elasticized hem at the blouse.  I decided to do that to make it different.  I also decided to add a lace trim between the yoke and the blouse piece for the front and back.

So, as you can see in the right picture, my yoke blouse looks a bit un-recognizable from the Butterick pattern.  But thanks to it, I was able to flair it up to meet modest Jewish standards and hope to enjoy it for Rosh Hashana!

Wishing my readers a Kesiva v'Chasima Tovah!

Simplicity Modest Yoke Blouse Adaptation

You can pretty much make adaptations of blouses from ready-to-buy patterns and turn them into graceful modest blouses befitting a Bas Yisrael.  Here is a pattern I use from Simplicity 9012 for nightgowns and pajamas. I adapted the pattern, using a high-collar yoke on a pull-on pajama top. See the middle model wearing purple button-downed nightgown. The other yokes are not so tznius as they reveal the torso beyond the collarbone, as well as expose the torso beyond the neck.

Then I sewed a mock neckband, thanks to ModestAnytime.com for its ideas! Walla! A rather modest blouse for regular wear that is b'chein! You can wear the blouse loose, or you can add a belt or a bow around the waist for a pretty effect.

Fabric used are print jersey knit and stable cotton-lycra ribbing for the neckband, elastic for the gathered cuffs and bias tape as elastic casing.  Rolled hem on the sleeves and blouse produces a lettuce edging. Simply beautiful, thanks to my serger.  Happy sewing, my sisters!