The Sweetheart Dress is a pattern I’ve had my eye on for a long time, and what better time to sew one up than just in time for Valentine’s Day!? What, you may ask, is so “sweetheart” about this dress?
Well what is NOT sweetheart about this dress? It’s seriously adorable from the front and then BAM! – that heart cutout in the back is just pure sweetness!
The Sweetheart Dress pattern is designed by the super kind and talented Shannon of luvinthemommyhood. If you ever go around her blog, you know that she is such a warm person and not only does she sew, but she’s a crazy amazing knitter too!
This pattern is a relatively quick sew, probably appropriate for an intermediate beginner. It is a PDF pattern, so you can download it to your computer and print it out at home. The pattern has very few pieces to cut and none that have to be taped together, so that made things even simpler and quicker!
The way Shannon instructs you to construct the bodice was completely new to me. I like learning new and different ways to do things. Though I have to say, I had some trouble getting my arm holes top stitched nicely and looking clean. It’s probably my least favorite part of the dress (I know you probably can’t tell from here, but if you looked close up, you’d see some slightly wonky stitching).
There are a couple of modifications I made to the pattern. The most obvious change was making it into a bubble dress! I know bubble hems have been popular for a long time now, but I never really had any desire to make one until I saw this dress by An of StraightGrain (she has a free pattern for a bubble skirt)! After I saw the Sweetheart Dress pattern and picked the fabric, it seemed like it was just begging to be a bubble dress! I’ll explain more about how I did it below.
The other things I did differently was to sew the skirt to the outside of the bodice with piping and then I hand stitched the bodice lining to the inside of the dress. I just knew that with the double gauze fabric, it would probably look cleaner without the extra top stitched line.
For the closure at the back of the dress, instead of doing a button with a loop, I hand stitched hook & eye closures to the inside of the dress. Great idea, in theory. It looks nice, but because the back of the dress is so open, it moves around a bit and the closures kept coming undone. Soooo, probably don’t try that one folks. I ended up adding a fabric covered button and button loop the way Shannon instructs (after these pictures were taken) – which looks just as nice. Shoulda just listened in the first place . . .
EDIT! Veronica from SewVery said that she used hook closures and it worked beautifully! You can see her dress here. Maybe I should have just used some pliers to close up the hooks a little.
So to make my Sweetheart Dress into a bubble dress, I used An’s tutorial for reference. You’ll want to cut your main skirt piece exactly the way the Sweetheart Dress pattern instructs you to. Then you’ll need to cut a lining skirt piece.
(like my awesome graphic?)
Basically, I cut 2 isosceles trapezoids with the following measurements. The bottom of the skirt lining was 10 inches less than my main skirt pieces. So since my main skirt piece was 29″ wide, the base of my skirt lining was 19 inches. The height was just one inch less than the height of the my main skirt. The main skirt piece was 15″, so my lining piece was 14″. The width at the top, is the same as your bodice piece, so use that for reference. Here’s what my lining pieces looked like:
(disclaimer: these measurements worked for me, but I do not guarantee that this formula will work for other sizes. sorry!)
Once you have your pieces, sew up the dress using Shannon’s directions for the bodice and An’s directions for the bubble skirt. Pretty easy modification – super cute results!
I made this dress in size 2T. It fits wonderfully when on, but the bodice is a bit snug getting her into it. Because of the design of the dress, I’m not sure how you can open up the bodice any deeper. Maybe place the heart cutout lower? Otherwise, it looks great on.
The fabric I used is Nani Iro Pon Pocho. It is double gauze and I loooooooooove it. I picked it up during my trip to Japan over the summer. I still have quite a bit left, so I’m excited to use it again. Doesn’t it just kinda make the dress? The only thing that I’m a little baffled by is that after washing and drying the dress, everything just looked flat and smushed (look at the very first and second photos up top – see the difference?) Is this normal? Does it have to do with the fabric? Any way to get it to fluff back up??
ANYWAYS. This dress is perfect for Valentine’s Day which is coming up SOON. And not just that, but it’s an adorable party dress, so I’m sure your little one could get plenty of use out of it all through spring and summer.
If you’re ready to buy the pattern and sew it up right now, head over here to purchase the Sweetheart Dress.
OR if you want to try and win a copy of this pattern for FREE, Shannon is so generously offering the Sweetheart Dress pattern to THREE lucky winners.
TO ENTER: {GIVEAWAY CLOSED – find out if you’re a winner here}
- Leave a comment on this post. You can leave a comment about anything, but if want a prompt, how about: Who do you want to sew this dress for and what kind of fabric will you use?
- One entry per person.
- Winner will be picked at random.
- Open to US and International residents.
- Giveaway will be open until Sunday, February 10 at 11:59pm PST. Winners will be announced on Monday, February 11.
So go ahead and buy your fabric this weekend, then come back on Monday to see if you’re one of the winners!
Wheeeee!
This pattern was given to me for this review. All opinions are my own.
I am an affiliate of Go To Patterns.
you and mie 
Oh, that’s SO adorable!!!
Love the dress! Very cute and I agree with you, the fabric does really add to the wow factor. I’ve never used that fabric before so I don’t know from experience if it’s the reason the dress went flat but I have sewn 2 bubble skirts in my life both using the same cotton blend and the first stayed puffy while the second went flat? The patterns were basically the same so I’ve never been able to figure what was the reason for them to end up so different. But puffy or flat the dress you made is lovely!
This is a beautiful, girly girl dress that I will make, (win or lose the pattern) out of a rosebud calico, for my 2 y.o. great niece. Cannot wait!!!! I think the fabric choice is why it went flat…I would try some sizing, which then might require some ironing…Not really sure. I am quite sure though that a cotton will stay puffy…especially a polished cotton…or an eyelet, perhaps!!! Ohh, maybe I will make another out of eyelet!!! Imagine!
Thank you for this opportunity! Good luck everyone!!!!
~Louise
I’d love to make one for each of my girls!
Adorable! I love the way you remixed the dress to have a bubble skirt. Your daughter just looks precious in it! I had trouble getting my armhole closed up neat like I wanted it too, but I used hooks for my closure and loved it. In fact, I have a difficult time getting them to unhook! Here’s my post where I used the hooks: http://sewvery.blogspot.com/2013/02/another-sweetheart-dress-with-extras.html
Oh, I love it with the bubble!! perfect pairing! And adorable pictures, as usual! 🙂
Beautiful Dress! I love this pattern. I would use it to make an Easter dress for my daughter.
I also think it would make a beautiful communion dress for my daughter.
Love your bubble skirt version
It looks gorgeous, Cherie! An’s bubble skirts did that to me too– now I think they look stylish and want to try one! I love how yours turned out, and I think your cheery yet subtle fabric was absolutely perfect for this dress. It looks wonderful!
I would make this for my two daughters, but I actually have dear friends expecting girls who would oohhh and aaahhh over this sweet dress 🙂
I love this! I don’t have a girl but two boys. They certainly wouldn’t appreciate a dress but ever since I found your blog my desire to have a girl has intensified! I want to make all these dresses and coats and everything!! Lucky you guys! Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!
This is adorable! I’d make this for my 2 year old, maybe using fabric I pick up when we go to Japan next month!
This is gorgeous! I have been wanting to make one of these super cute heart cutout dresses for so long. 🙂
This is serioulsly cute ! I’d like to sew this little dress for my niece, and I would let her parents pick the fabric they like.
Thanks for the chance to win !
I love this dress! This is the 3rd giveaway I enter for this dress with no luck so far. Perhaps 3rd times a charm!!
I love your version of this dress, the bubble skirt takes it over the top! I really want to make one for my niece!
I love it !!! Next weekend we r celebrating our anniversary , late valentines day n my moms b day this dress would be perfect to such an eventful day 😀 fingers crossed
I’m dying to make this dress!
Adorable! I would make this for my almost-2-year-old daughter and maybe one for the cousins…eventually.
My daughter and my niece (both 3) are all about hearts right now. I’d make them coordinating dresses.
I really love that you turned this dress into a bubble! so perfect, especially with the fabric you picked. it’s awesome!!! Please pick me to win the pattern. I can’t afford it right now, but would so love to make this dress… 🙂
Love this pattern and love it even more that you turned it into a bubble dress! So cute!
I really like this pattern and I love how you changed the hem. It is really the perfect pattern for v day.
soso beautiful! love the sweetheart anyway, but your`s is especially nice. i really hope to be one of the lucky winners! my 3yr old daughter would love it!
Your version of this dress is really cute. I would probably sew it up for my baby when she gets into the size of the pattern. She’s only 5 1/2 months right now. Not sure what kind of fabric I would use.
Love how you turned it into a bubble dress! Would love to win the pattern!
I have had my eye on this dress for a while, but with the bubble I’m totally in. I love it! I would definitely make on for my girl for Easter.
I’m not sure why the bubble fell flat after washing. I assume both fabrics were washed before sewing?
I’d love to make it for my daughter.
Beautiful Dress. I want to make this for my niece 😀
Thank you for the wonderful giveaway! Cheers!!
Love the polka dots!
SEW Cute! (Sorry, absolutely couldn’t resist the pun)! I’d love to stitch one up in some Amy Butler for a cutesy spring frock for my 4 year old! Or Michael Miller’s Marketplace fabric, with the apples and pears… Oh that would be adorable!!!
Cheers!
Adrienne
I absolutely love this pattern..I would love to make this for my daughter in cotton of muted spring colors…Thanks for the giveaway !!
like always your dress is beautiful. I want one for me!!!!! But I’ll do dresses for my girl 8 mo and for my niece who will come this summer (3yo) to visit us. yupi!! Fabric??? My lots and lots Sarah Jane’s fabric saved for a speciall ocasion.
You had me at isosceles trapezoid! Ha. I love this dress, that sweetheart cut out is just too precious. I’ve never sewn with double gauze fabric, or even felt it, but it sounds perfect on little bodies. I can’t wait to try!
I love this dress. I have seen it popping up all over the place. I would make this dress for my two girls. I actually have this red fabric with tiny white hearts that I would use.
love! you’re killing me with all this nani iro, it totally makes the dress! i love your bubble modification – i feel the same as you, the bubble never really grabbed me until i saw An’s. and now yours!!
Adorable to the max! I have that same Nani Iro, and it’s perfect for this dress! Great modifications and as always Yuki is too cute for words 🙂
I’ve been looking for a “different” styled dress for my daughter for Easter, I’d love to make this! Thanks for the opportunity!
So beautifully made!!! You blow me away!!! xoxo
Love. This. Dress. I have a four year old who would love this.
SOOO cute! I keep seeing this dress pop up on different blogs. I already know I’d have to make two, one for each niece. And I have this adorable pink cotton with little kittens and hearts on it, yes, this pattern and my fabric seem meant for each other. 🙂
I have a lavender linen in my stash that would be perfect for this (and a cute 2yr old girl to wear it too lol).
Wow! That is possibly the cutest dress I’ve ever seen. I really want to make one for my niece but have no idea yet what fabric but I’m sure I will be able to find something!
The dress looks great with the bubble skirt, and I love the piping. I’d make one for my 3yr old, as to fabric, I think I need to go shopping 😉
My little (5 yrs) sister would so love this, she’s such a girly girl! It would have to be a princes pink fabric for her though, she’d just wear this all day long if her school didn’t have a uniform!
So pretty on your girl! I’d love to make one of these for my daughter to wear on her 5th birthday this Spring :). Thanks for the giveaway!
I’ve been wanting this ever since she posted her 1st tutorial WAY LONG AGO! I have 2 daughters (4 and 6) and both would be adorable in this dress. i hope I win 🙂
Adorable! We have a wedding to go to in April – I may have to make one of these for my daughter to wear! =)
I want to sew the dress for my three Granddaughters…thinking Polka Dots. Clare calls them POKIE DOTS, and I know she would love this dress SEW much!!!
Good lawd Cherie, this is cute. LOVE that you added the bubble skirt and love the polka dots on the dress, too! Adorable. You can exclude me from the giveaway, I just had to tell you how much I love this dress. 🙂
Oh my goodness I love this dress bubbled out. Yuki is as cute as ever. Oh and love that fabric!!
Love your fabric choice and the bubble skirt! 🙂 I’d make this for Ansley.
Oh my, you’ve created such a perfect dress. It’s so adorable!
I love the idea using hook closure, I guess I would at least try it, too!
It’s already been some time since I totally adore this wonderful pattern, so Inwould really like to sew it, yes! 🙂 But I really can’t tell, which fabric I would use. I always chose this very impulsively; it’s just that my fabrics seem to speak to me, when I stand in front of them, holding the pattern that I want to sew… 😉
But I really like your fabric choice a lot! It’s perfect.
This dress has been on my want-to-make list for such a long time. Would LOVE to win the pattern!
So sweet! I’d love to make about 5 of them for my 2 year old, so she could wear them all the time! Adorable!
I’d love to sew this dress for my daughters, as for what fabric to use I’d have to go shopping, there are so many cute fabrics out there for little girls clothing, it would be hard to decide. 🙂
This would be really cute for my little love bug 🙂
Love it! I would make one for my little girl! I love the polka dots!
I love how you made it into a bubble dress!
The adorable-ness kills me! It’s so sweet and so adorable I just gasped when I saw it!
I would love to make this dress for my granddaughters. I love the heart cut out in the back.
Would love to sew this dress for my daughter!
I would love to make this dress for my niece – my sister is getting married in July and this would be a perfect dress for her to wear on her aunts special day
OH so cute. I’d love to make this for my son’s little girl friend around the corner! she’d be adorable in it!
I would love to make this for my bayb girl. Thanks for hosting!
super cute! love your bubble adaptation! i would sew it up for both of my girls!
I love how you turned it into a bubble dress! I would have never thought of that. Would love to win the pattern to make it for my niece. Thanks for the chance to win 🙂
So cute, I love this pattern and your version of it!
Love your dress it is just wonderful…I would like to make it for my wee Japanese grandaughters. I think I would chose a cotton to make the dress, nice and cool in summer. Thank you for publishing it is so cute and the heart just makes it!
I really doubt my ability to produce something as charming and well-tailored as this, but I would love to give it a shot for both my girls!
would love to try and make this dress for my baby girl…have a polka dot pink fabric that is just yelling “use me”…for it…..
this is the cutest dress ever! love the heart on the back!
I love this little dress and would make it for my grand daughter. My DIL is learning to sew, and this would be a great project to work with her on during my next trip to AZ.
I love your version! I was planning on making this for both of my girls – but now I want to try your variation!!
It’s beautiful, Cherie! I think it’s the double gauze that made it “squish” down, although I think that’s part of the charm. I’ve sewn with Heather Ross’ double gauze and it usually ended up like that, but very soft. I kind of like the look, personally! Great job with the bubble skirt addition, love!
Cette robe est magnifique ! Et le dos…..!!
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