Janey Jump Around (night) Dress

I made this back in May for Munchkin's 7th birthday (I know, how time flies, they grow so fast, where has my baby gone etc etc). This is only the second nightie I've sewn for her, she'd always been a pyjama girl until her auntie bought her a Disney Princess fancy nightie for Christmas and after that there was much pleading for nightdresses to be sewn.

Very pleased with her new nightie :)

I used the Janey Jump Around Dress pattern from Peek-a-boo patterns which I downloaded a while ago but hadn't used. I made an age 8 as I thought it would last a bit longer and I was really pleased with the fit. The pattern has a lovely faux wrap front which is a lot easier to sew than it looks. I left off the button fastening and just top-stitched part of the front instead so that it didn't gape.

Pipsqueak gets in on the act.

The fabric was a nice soft jersey from the Magic Fabric Shop, £2 a metre, and I wish I'd bought the whole roll. All clothes should be made from bright pink soft jersey with cats on. The neck band and sleeve bands were scraps from an old black t-shirt of mine.

The back. Love the modest length :)

I think the pattern works really well as a nightie and I'd definitely make it again. The pattern is 6 months - 10 years, so for a freebie you get a lot of sizes. I used my overlocker which made it very fast to sew up, but you could quite easily do it on a standard machine and the instructions are very clear so it would be great for beginners. I can see why it's called a Jump Around dress - you could do pretty much everything in it and a) not expose yourself to all and sundry as it's a great length, and more importantly b) not feel restricted. Perfect for the girl who loves dresses but still insists on climbing every tree in sight. Munchkin is just happy that it's comfy to sleep in and has cats on :)