Today’s post is brought to you by the lovely Eleena Dress pattern by Coffee & Thread.  The Eleena Dress is Olga’s latest pattern, and not the first I’ve sewn.  I previously shared the Antalya Dress I made for Arden last summer.  In the interim, Kid Approved became Coffee & Thread.
The Eleena Dress is for girls 2 through 12 years. Â It’s a 60’s inspired a-line dress with a box pleat detail on the front that is just begging for some interesting fabric combinations. Â There are three sleeve options: flutter sleeves, short sleeves, and long sleeves with cuffs. Â I played with the flutter sleeve construction, replacing the flutters with large pom pom trim.
The pattern is put together nicely, with some interesting details that I really appreciated. Â Like small darts to shape the back of the bodice on sizes 6 and up, which is what I made for Arden. Â When I make this again I might make those darts a teensy bit smaller since both my kids have pretty square, broad shoulders so they don’t have as much of a curve to their back as the average child.
I also appreciate how well the collar is shaped so that it hugs the neckline.  If you ever see or make something where the collar just sticks out, it often means that the collar is drafted exactly the shape of the neckline without making the necessary adjustment to lay properly.  I wish I had taken the time to fussy cut my fabric for the collar so the medallion pattern was symmetrical, but I didn’t notice at the time.
I’ve been giving Arden more input into what I make for her, so the pom poms were her idea after she agreed to the chambray for the body of the dress and pink lawn for the inset and collar.  She’s ever so much more likely to reach for something in her closet if she’s had a say in it so if she wants pom poms instead of sleeves, why not?
The weather hasn’t been cooperative for the days leading up to my post, so we made do by donning rain boots and bringing an umbrella in case it started to downpour.
The dress closes with an invisible zipper, shown (or hopefully not shown since it’s supposed to be invisible, right?) here. Â I promise I pressed the dress as I was sewing and after I finished, but the chambray seems to want to hang on to some fold lines from being stored.
Be sure to visit the rest of the bloggers on the tour to see their interpretation of the Eleena Dress:
February, 22
February, 24
February, 26
February, 29
March, 2
March, 4
March, 7
The Eleena Dress will be on sale for $7.00 (regular price $9.00) through March 7th, 11:59 EST.  There’s also a giveaway of two patterns of your choice and one yard of Sara Jane fabric in the photo:
Arden has great taste! Love the pompoms and the fabric! The dress turned out beautifully I hope it gets a lot of wear! Thank you so much for being in the tour!!!!
She loves it! I had to pull it off her while she was eating dinner so she didn’t get food all over it.
Super adorable- I love the big pom poms. And that last picture is just awesome!
We always have fun with the jumping shots, and the outtakes are hilarious!
Your dress looks wonderful, and Arden is so darned cute. Love the pompom trim, and wow, does that collar ever look beautiful. I totally agree with you on collars that are drafted correctly and lay nicely, like this one, versus collars that stick up all over the place.
Thanks so much! This really is her personality to a T. I love a good collar, and this is definitely one.
Beautiful version of the Eleena dress! Love your pom pom trim.
A gorgeous version of the dress Jenn. Well chosen detail by Arden 🙂
oh man. the pompoms! 🙂