New Look 6504 – An Easy Little Girl’s Summer Dress Pattern

It may be winter outside, but my mind is planning for summer. So this week I have decided to try out a new dress pattern for my little girl. The New Look 6504 dress pattern is marked as being easy. Is it? I decided to give it a try.

New Look 6504 – An Easy Little Girl’s Summer Dress Pattern

this Idea!

In the very warm summer weather, my little girl Elizabeth loves being in little sleeveless cotton dresses. She just cannot have enough of them. I do have several different patterns to choose from now, but it is always lovely to try a new style. The New Look 6504 dress pattern looks like a very simple sleeveless dress, perfect for the summer.

It is marketed as an ‘easy’ pattern. And there are lots of different variations in how to make it. There is

• a pinafore style with button fastenings at the shoulders
• a straight shift style
• the option to add a flounce to the bottom of the dress, and tie details to the shoulders.
• ideas and templates for appliqué details to add if so desired.

It is a pull over the head style, with no zips, just a button and loop to the back of the neck or buttons to the shoulders.

Recommended fabrics for making this dress? Light to medium weight woven fabrics such as cottons, gingham, chambray or linen blends. Elizabeth is really into “Trolls” at the moment, so I chose this lovely 100% cotton fabric. I actually only had a metre of this, and the pattern called for 1.5 metres, so I used a contrast fabric for the facing/lining.

I decided to make view E, which is a knee length sleeveless summer dress with a flounce band added to the hem.

A great feature of the pattern is that it does give finished measurements for each size. Based on my little girl’s measurements I made age 5.

There are some lovely licenced cotton poplins here perfect for this dress

Sewing Up The Pattern

The pattern went together very well. It is such a simple main body to the dress, and the instructions are easy to understand.

The facing also turned out very nicely. However, instead of trying to hem the facing as the pattern suggests, I found this to be very tricky due to the curvature of the lines. So instead I overlooked the edge of the facing, which gives quite a pretty finish. (top left of pic below)

When it came to hemming the flounce of the pattern I again overlocked the edge before turning up the hem. The steep curve of the hem is much easier to tackle by doing this. (see top right of pic above)

So yes – I do agree that this pattern would be a lovely easy pattern for the beginner sewer.

But lastly –  the pattern doesn’t give detailed instructions on how to make a loop for the button fastening. The sole instruction is ‘make a loop’. I actually ended up using a cam snap as a fastening instead of a button. I have done this before with other patterns and it has worked well. And I always find this lack of instruction to be one of the major drawbacks of using the ‘big four’ patterns over indie patterns, who tend to give more detailed instructions.

Here Is My Finished Garment

I actually really like the finish to this little summer dress. It will be so easy to wear, and could even be worn over a short or long sleeved t-shirt with tights for winter.

If I were to make it again (and I am sure I will) I would probably consider adding some pockets, either simple patch pockets or in seam. I do so love a pocket! And I may also make it slightly shorter next time.

My Verdict

Its a lovely pattern. Easier because there is no zip to insert. However, I still do think that the independent pattern makers are so much better with their instructions.

See my reviews of other children’s dress patterns

• Geranium dress pattern from Made By Rae
• The Simplicity 8147
• My Little Girl Superhero Dress

I cannot wait to see E in her new little dress!

Look out for the New Look 6504 dress pattern. Find it here or on Amazon.

Why not pin this post for later?