sewing the building block dress with knit fabrics

Liesl kicked off an interesting conversation about adapting the Building Block Dress for use with knits in her previous post right here. Now, Shelley is taking the reins and sharing her experience with sewing the dress pattern using knit fabric. Over to you, Shelley!  The moment I received my copy of the Building Block Dress book, my mind immediately wandered to how it might look in knit material. If you've been following my posts on the Oliver + S blog, you'll know that I often gravitate toward knits for sewing projects—partly because my kids love wearing them, and partly because they save me from the chore of ironing! Initially, I wanted to keep things straightforward and test the pattern without any closures. So, I opted for the basic block pattern and matched it precisely to my daughter's measurements: size 5, but with the length of size 6. The back bodice pattern includes a marked center line. To cut the back as a single piece, I simply aligned the center back line with the fabric's fold. The same approach applied to the back skirt piece. There was no need to manually adjust measurements—it’s all clearly indicated on the pattern. For those who prefer visuals, it’s explained on page 134 in the book, detailing how to shift the closure from the back to the front. For the pockets, I used the "Front pockets without waist seam" design, though I caught the top inch or so of each pocket in the waist seam to prevent them from flapping around. I sketched the desired pocket opening, omitted the seam allowance, and basted the pocket opening and facing together with the wrong sides facing. Then, I bound the raw edges with a strip of knit fabric. Both the pockets and the neckline were finished according to the "Bias-bound Neckline" method outlined in the book. The only variation was cutting the knit binding along the stretch axis instead of on the bias. When attaching the pockets, I stretched the binding slightly as I sewed to ensure a snug fit. For the neckline, I used about 75% of the dress's total neckline length. To complete the binding, I stitched "in the ditch" using a long straight stitch. This technique provides enough elasticity to allow the neckline to stretch comfortably over my child's head. If needed, the front neckline can be adjusted for larger heads, or a keyhole opening can be added at the back—a tip also covered in the book. After finishing the pocket openings, the rest of the dress came together swiftly on my serger. Later, I switched back to my sewing machine to attach the neck binding and hem the sleeves and skirt with a twin needle. The sleeves follow the basic block design but omit cuffs, with a simple hem folded up by ¾ of an inch. I'm thrilled with the fit, and my daughter adores the twirly feel of the circular skirt. It's definitely a dress she’ll reach for often. Naturally, I began brainstorming fabric possibilities. Imagine a luxurious, long-sleeved stretch velvet version—perfect for a Christmas outfit! You could start that project tomorrow and still have plenty of time. Before wrapping up, I should confess something. When I first saw the Building Block Dress book, my initial thought wasn’t, “Would this work in a knit?” At first, I felt a pang of dread—my unofficial role as Oliver + S tinkerer seemed threatened. With the patterns tested and reliable, and detailed instructions provided, the fear of failure diminished. Yet, as I held the book, I realized the endless possibilities it opened up. I cheered up instantly and wondered how it might look in a knit. Wishing everyone a fantastic and adventurous holiday season. Until next year, Shelley --- (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push();

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