Peony Patterns Calendula Dress {Release}

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I’m so excited about the new Calendula dress from Peony Patterns, designed by their newest pattern designer, Annie Arana! Annie is based in Western Australia and will be focused on *knit* patterns for kids. Huzzah!

My youngest, in particular, adores all the knit dresses because they’re so much easier for her to put on. And I love them because they’re so quick to bust out! So far this past week, I’ve made 3 Calendulas, and I hope to get one more made by the end of the week too, so fingers crossed for that!

Anyway, on to Calendula! This lovely dress has a sweetheart neckline with back circular cutout and ties. It comes with a flutter sleeve and circle skirt in two lengths, and is sized 1-14. The pattern is available as a downloadable digital file (PDF) that you can either print at home or via a printing service, or you can use with a projector. My youngest is 6, and I used a size 3 width lengthened to 5.5 based on her measurements. It’s important to use the child’s chest size for the width in this pattern and not to size up, so that the neckline doesn’t gape.

This week I’ll be staggering my Calendula posts so you can see more versions each day! So here’s the first one I made – this one from a 1 yard or so cut of scuba I *think* I got from a local fabric swap years ago. It’s originally from JoAnn. I initially made the back ties from the scuba as well, but I didn’t think they’d tie very nicely, so I raided my stash for an alternative and found a remnant of stretch lace which worked perfectly!

For this dress, you’ll need a knit such as cotton lycra, double brushed poly, scuba, ITY – basically something with recovery since the circle skirt has a bias cut (interlock, for example, stretches out on the bias and turns circle skirts into mermaid skirts. #askmehowiknow). You’ll also need some stabilizer for the circle and neckline (I used 1″ knit SewKeysE Tape, but you can also use interfacing with the pattern templates provided). And, if you use a bulky knit or something with a print that might show through to the front, then you will need a knit lining too (I used swim lining for this scuba one and a plain cotton lycra in my CL version). One thing to note is that my girls have been able to get these dresses over their heads without needing to undo the ties in the back.

You can get Calendula on sale for 30% off during release week (ends Monday July 18, 2022). This is definitely a pattern you’ll turn to over and over! Happy sewing!

P.S. Be sure to join the Peony Patterns Facebook group for more inspiration and to share your own creations!