Once upon a time there were two little girls princesses who loved to wear dresses. Their love for frills didn’t stop at night – so nightgowns became mandatory for all of the girls in the land. Thankfully their mom found a good knit raglan sleeve nightgown tutorial at ikatbag with free pattern pieces in exactly the sizes of the two princesses! All was well and everyone slept happily ever after. The End.

The ikatbag Raglan Sleeve Nightgown

I should first explain one of my goals for this year. I want to get rid of my fabric… in a good way! I have a closet full of fabrics that I am not super fond of. I bought a lot of fabric a few years ago and have accumulated quite a bit of  “not so trendy” (read: not in style and working on possibly ugly?!). One way I want to accomplish this is by making my kids some clothes out of these fabrics. I think (because sometimes I like to be optimistic) that they can be saved and still look stylish and trendy by being creative and mixing them up in quirky ways. I am hoping (because mostly I like to be pessimistic) that I am right.

The highlight of the night – being allowed to jump on the bed!

This is the first project that has used up a lot of the yardage of knits that I had waiting for something. Also, because they are nightgowns I can make them out of just about anything because they won’t be seen outside of our house. Well, except for the fact that I am posting them here. (Note to self: this could backfire on me!)

I really like ikatbag because she has posted a lot of really helpful information on drafting your own patterns and on how to make things properly – like our moms and grandmothers do it! I just happened to find this pattern in a size 3 and a size 5 which is perfect for my girls and all I had to change was to make the sleeve longer so they could be worn in the winter.

I also added a bit of shirring with elastic thread on the sides, about empire waist height under the arms to make them less of a “peasant shirt” shape. I like how the gathers pulls the front flatter and adds an interesting detail to the finished nightgown.

I have made my oldest daughter 3 nightgowns now. Two previous have been sewn from extra knit yardage and re-purposed maternity shirts. She has called each by the name of the princess with a dress who’s colour is “closest” to that of the nightgown. So far we have Belle (pink/green/yellow/brown and white stripes and flowers) and Cinderella (blue/green/white stripe and solid). This new one has been deemed worthy to be like Sleeping Beauty. Oh to be a kid again!