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free sewing patterns sewing sewing for kids

pleated flutter sleeve dress (free pattern in size 4T)

Last summer I shared a free pattern for a flutter sleeve dress (or tunic) in girls size 4T that featured a gathered elastic neckline. It’s a very easy sew that doesn’t take much fabric, and it’s been one of my most popular sewing posts of the past year. Since we’ve had such a lovely early spring this year, I decided to sew up another one, this time with a pleated neckline. The pleats are just as easy (maybe even easier!) than the gathered elastic neckline, and they give the dress a slightly fancier look. I also added a color blocked panel at the bottom just because.

Click through for the sewing pattern for this cute girls pleated flutter sleeve dress in size 4T.

The dress still has the puffed flutter sleeves and A-line shape of the original dress. Because the neckline isn’t elastic, I added a simple button closer in back to make sure it would fit easily over my daughter’s head.

this dress is adorable! free pattern in size 4T and great step by step sewing tutorial

The pattern size is fairly flexible – my daughter is starting to wear 5T in commercial clothes, but the 4T pattern still fits her just fine (I did add about an inch of length).

this dress is adorable! free pattern in size 4T and great step by step sewing tutorial

And the gold heart fabric! I love this fabric. It’s from Jo-Ann Fabrics in the quilting cottons section, but it almost looks like a linen:

this dress is adorable! free pattern in size 4T and great step by step sewing tutorial

If you want to make a pleated neck flutter sleeve dress, download the pattern from this post. Print it out at 100%, being sure that the text square measures 1 inch exactly.

Cut out two dress pieces and two sleeve pieces, both on the fold:

this dress is adorable! free pattern in size 4T and great step by step sewing tutorial

I did not add any trim to the sleeves, like I did on the original dress, so just begin by finishing the bottom edge of each sleeve. I serged the edge, turned up 1/4 inch, and sewed. If you don’t have a serger, a rolled hem would be a great idea.

gold-pleated-flutter-sleeve-dress-free-pattern1

Next, I sewed the dress pieces together and attached the sleeves and finished the armholes as shown in the original tutorial, using bias tape.

gold-pleated-flutter-sleeve-dress-free-pattern2

Next, we’ll make a little extra room in the back for a button closure. Cut a facing – a V-shaped piece of fabric 3-4 inches long – and finish the edges, then pin it to the middle of the dress back, as shown below. Cut a slit down the dress back and facing (do not cut through the front of the dress!). Stitch close to the slit on both sides, coming to a point just below the end of the slit, as shown by the dots below.

gold-pleated-flutter-sleeve-dress-free-pattern8

Then flip the facing to the inside, press well, and topstitch close the the opening as you can see above. I like to reinforce just below the slit by stitching back and forth a few times.

Next we’ll add the pleats. Start by finding the exact middle of the front of the dress. Place a pin 1/2 inch to the left and 1/2 inch to the right of the exact middle. Then, working outward, place pins every 1.5 inches all the way around the neckline (you may have to make some a little bit more than 1.5 inches apart to make sure you don’t end up with a pin directly on a seam).

gold-pleated-flutter-sleeve-dress-free-pattern4

Make small folds in the fabric, bringing each pin to meet a spot 1/2 inch away, making small pleats. The two center pleats should meet exactly in the middle, as you can see in the photo above. Once you’ve folded each pleat, remove the pin and use it to pin the pleat in place. Here are some close-up shots of how to make the pleats:

gold-pleated-flutter-sleeve-dress-free-pattern9

Continue folding and pinning pleats until you’ve gone all the way around to the back:

gold-pleated-flutter-sleeve-dress-free-pattern5

At this point, you’ll want to sew a basting stitch across the pleats to hold them in place. Then finish the neckline the same way you finished the arm holes, using bias tape. (It’s similar to what’s shown in the original tutorial, you just don’t need to worry about using the bias tape as casing.)

gold-pleated-flutter-sleeve-dress-free-pattern6

At this point you can hand sew on a button on one side, and a loop of elastic cord on the other side.

this dress is adorable! free pattern in size 4T and great step by step sewing tutorial

The last step is to hem the dress however you wish. I happened to have some metallic gold vegan stretch leather that I’d never used, so I decided to make a color blocked band at the bottom of the dress. I cut of the bottom 3 inches off the dress and used that as a pattern to cut pieces from the vegan leather.

gold-pleated-flutter-sleeve-dress-free-pattern7

I cut two front hemband pieces and two back hemband pieces from the vegan leather, sewed each front to a back at the sides. Then I layered the two hem band pieces right sides together and sewed along the bottom. I turned it right side out and pressed (with a press cloth since I wanted to be sure I didn’t melt the vegan leather). Then I sewed the hem band onto the bottom of the dress, and pressed. I love how the slightly stiffer vegan leather makes the bottom of the dress stand out a bit so you can really see the A-line shape.

this dress is adorable! free pattern in size 4T and great step by step sewing tutorial

Sorry I didn’t get more photos of the hemband process. You attach it the same way I attached the hemband in this post, except that here the hemband will be the same width as the bottom of the dress so there’s no stretching of either piece.

Remember to check out the original flutter sleeve dress & top pattern post here:

flutter-sleeve-tunic

And the free pattern for the flutter sleeve romper here:

flutter-sleeve-romper

 

this dress is adorable! free pattern in size 4T and great step by step sewing tutorial

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40 Comments

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Comments

  1. jennifer says

    April 10, 2015 at 7:52 am

    This is too cute! I LOVE the pleats. It it very similar to a couple GAP dresses I’ve bought on clearance for my daughter!

    Reply
    • Donna Wood says

      May 13, 2018 at 6:02 am

      Hello, Jennifer my name is Donna and i am new to sewing so i wondered if you could help me? i want to know what 4T means as i’m not familiar with this term?

      Donna

      Reply
      • Sherrie Stillwell says

        September 18, 2019 at 1:21 pm

        Its the size of the dress 4 toddler

        Reply
  2. kelly says

    April 11, 2015 at 7:57 pm

    I just think you are the best! This tutorial is even better than the last one I followed. I am a total beginner and stumbled my way onto your amazing blog. Now I am your grasshopper! 🙂 Keep up your amazing blog and cool clothes for kiddos.

    Reply
  3. Gail Stewart says

    April 12, 2015 at 6:51 am

    So cute and easy!

    Reply
  4. Lisa says

    April 13, 2015 at 2:36 am

    Hello,

    I did the previous flutter dress, came out really well, well i will definitely do this one…. so cute….. love it thanks a lot

    Reply
  5. Marie Walters says

    April 15, 2015 at 2:31 pm

    Have not been able to download the pattern. Can someone help.

    Thank you.

    Marie

    Reply
  6. Marie Walters says

    April 15, 2015 at 2:32 pm

    Can someone send me the pattern to my email [email protected]

    Thank you,

    Marie

    Reply
  7. rachel says

    April 23, 2015 at 9:12 am

    Lovely! Great ideas and simple instructions!

    Reply
  8. elenor says

    May 19, 2015 at 7:30 am

    Many thanks for this nice pattern and the good tutorial. I just sewed this dress for my little granddaughter. She is only 2 and so I printed the pattern at 80% which fitted perfectly. The dress turned out absolutely cute. Now we are only waite for warmer weather so she can wear it.
    Kind regards from the EU

    Reply
  9. Brenna says

    May 26, 2015 at 11:05 am

    I’m going to make this soon. How much material does it need?
    Thanks.

    Reply
  10. Jenn says

    July 24, 2015 at 10:58 am

    I LOVE this pattern. Your tutorial is very thorough and easy to understand. I usually sew dolls and softies and as a mom to four boys I don’t make dresses often but love to for my niece every now and then. How could I alter the pattern to make it fit larger or smaller sizes?

    Reply
  11. Call of duty balck ops 3 download pc says

    October 5, 2015 at 8:09 pm

    WOW just what I was searching for. Came here by searching for Call of duty
    balck ops 3 download pc

    Reply
  12. Ana says

    December 12, 2015 at 9:39 pm

    Fabulous tutorial…made this and it turned out beautifully! Might I suggest sandwiching the elastic loop between the button facing and the back piece before they get sewn together so it looks a little more visually “clean” on the inside 🙂

    Reply
  13. Lynsey says

    December 14, 2015 at 9:58 pm

    Thank you so much. Your instructions are very easy to follow. I made this dress for my niece out of my fiancé’ old button down shirts. It worked great! Again thank you very much!

    Reply
  14. Dezarel says

    January 10, 2016 at 6:08 pm

    In the original dress tutorial you showed how you can make your pattern for a different size. If I wanted to make my dress for a 12 month old how much extra length will I need for the pleats you think?

    Reply
  15. Tyali says

    January 27, 2016 at 12:50 am

    this is great. i can make my girl dress with simple steps. thank you

    Reply
  16. LETTIE says

    February 2, 2016 at 12:35 am

    I made one today. It went together really fast and came out nicely. I used light weight corduroy.

    Reply
  17. Jen says

    February 24, 2016 at 3:18 pm

    Just made this dress for my daughter. It turned out great!!! Thanks so much for sharing the pattern 🙂

    Reply
  18. conchi says

    March 2, 2016 at 2:55 am

    Muy bonito, me encanta todo lo que haces. Un saludo.

    Reply
  19. ellen ross says

    March 20, 2016 at 6:45 am

    thanks so much. but i’m not able to find the pattern for the PLEATED flutter sleeve dress.
    can you email the link to the pdf to me or post it here again? thanks so much!

    Reply
    • Lilith says

      June 5, 2016 at 1:17 am

      It’s the same pattern as the regular flutter sleeve dress. You just finish it differently 😉

      Reply
  20. S.A.Mitchell says

    March 30, 2016 at 1:47 pm

    Loved this dress for my little! Pics on links.
    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1137267866285274&id=991443070867755
    And
    https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1141551005856960&id=991443070867755

    Reply
  21. Marcy says

    May 18, 2016 at 7:36 am

    I love this pattern and will make it. I appreciate the tutorial not being streamed. We have satellite which is the only thing available to us. Data is extremely limited so being able to use the reading is fantastic!

    Reply
  22. Lilith says

    June 5, 2016 at 1:16 am

    I love your pattern! Thank you so much – it’s fantastic!! I love that it can be made from non-stretchy fabric and is so light and perfect for hot summer days. Already made my second one 🙂
    Also I learned a lot about using bias tape and how to make a rolled hem 😉 Thank you so much!

    Reply
  23. Nora says

    June 20, 2016 at 1:33 pm

    Love it so much, can´t wait to sew ist! thanks so much!

    Reply
  24. sandy roseman says

    September 10, 2016 at 12:00 pm

    I love your dress with flutter sleeves, but you do not mention the size of the sleeve. I see your pattern but I don’t know what size to make the sleeves. Can you help me. My grandaughter is 18 months
    Thanks a bunch,
    Sandy Roseman

    Reply
  25. Ashley says

    May 2, 2017 at 6:28 pm

    Love this dress!! Found a super cute fabric with cherries on it and added a red band at the bottom and made the flutter sleeves out of red fabric. My daughter loves the dress too! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  26. Batul says

    May 20, 2017 at 3:20 am

    Hi..I liked thid pattern very much(golden hearted)..but i did not find any measurements here.n i want to make this frock for my 9 month old niece.so better if i got measurement..
    Thanks for ideas

    Reply
  27. luigia frezza says

    May 27, 2017 at 11:49 pm

    bella vestibilità e facile esecuzione grazie molto bello

    Reply
  28. Bhakti Natha says

    June 1, 2017 at 6:01 pm

    Hi. really nice dress, love your post. however I am unable to download this pattern, Please can you guide me. Thanks

    Reply
  29. Mandy_sews says

    February 27, 2018 at 5:07 am

    Thank you for providing this pattern! I was wondering how people were making flutter tops without elasticated necklines. Mystery solved! Fantastic blog, glad i’ve stumbled upon it 🙂

    Reply
  30. Cherrie says

    March 29, 2018 at 12:27 pm

    Thank you for sharing your talents! ❤ I made this for my granddaughter, it turned out so cute! The pleats are a great idea! Easiest dress I’ve ever made?

    Reply
  31. Cathy Wirt says

    April 12, 2019 at 9:51 am

    Hi, I LOVE this pattern. but I can’t find where to download the pattern. Could you please send it to me? Thank you in advance!

    Reply
  32. Brenda says

    June 22, 2019 at 8:48 pm

    Very cute dress!

    Reply
  33. Christine says

    September 21, 2019 at 9:36 am

    The v cut in the back if the flutter dress is giving me some havoc. When i fold the facing over, it wrinkles all up. It doesn’t look finessed.

    Reply
  34. Brenda says

    October 15, 2019 at 6:01 pm

    I love the idea of the pleats instead of elastic around the neck. Thanks for sharing!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

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    February 26, 2016 at 9:27 am

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    February 17, 2017 at 11:41 am

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I'm Autumn, a mom of five who loves ice cream, Masterpiece Theatre, and clothes that hide the fact that I eat so much ice cream. When I was 18 I got a job at a craft store and told everyone (regularly) how much I hated crafts. Well, things change! Read More…

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