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    Home » Sewing » Apparel

    A finished project: the Coco Dress Sewing Pattern

    Updated: Jul 27, 2021 by Melissa Mortenson · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 11 Comments

     

    A cute dress to sew for teens and tweens, Coco dress pattern

    Have you ever tried to look for church dresses for teenage girls? Let me tell ya the pickings are slim.  I just don’t think it’s very common anymore for teenage girls to wear dresses (other than sundresses) so they are usually pretty hard to come by.  We wear dresses to church on Sundays and it takes a bit of hunting sometimes to find ones that are cute and age appropriate.

    A cute dress to sew for teens and tweens, Coco dress pattern

    My daughter is 13 and right now I want her to dress like she’s 13… not 16, or 20 or anything else…13.  Since I picked up apparel sewing again a few years ago, I’ve challenged myself to make a few items of clothing for her and her older sister.  So far we’re doing pretty good, although I confess there are way more dresses on my “to sew” list than my “it’s done” list.

    A cute dress to sew for teens and tweens, Coco dress pattern

    I bought the Tilly & the Buttons Coco Dress pattern a couple of years ago and made myself a top from it (which I still need to photograph and share with you).  I loved the pattern, and I loved how quickly it stitched up.

    My daughter immediately fell in love with this sweet Fawn Knit Jersey fabric from Girl Charlee. We picked out a ponte de roma knit fabric to coordinate with it and decided to make her a Coco dress.

    If you want to make one yourself I have a few tips.  I would not sew this dress pattern from a light weight knit fabric. In my opinion, you need the heavier ponte knit so that the dress will hold it’s “a-line” shape.  Otherwise the “a” part of the skirt will just collapse in and you won’t get the look you want. Plus I’m not usually a huge fan of sewing garments that will cover legs and bums with lightweight fabrics.

    A cute dress to sew for teens and tweens, Coco dress pattern

    I stitched up the dress for her a couple of weeks ago and we finally made it outside for a little photo shoot last weekend.  The dog was not supposed to be in the photos, yet somehow she worked her way into them.  I could have sworn at one point she was “smiling” for the camera :).

    A cute dress to sew for teens and tweens, Coco dress pattern

    We made my daughter a size 1 Coco. In the future I’ll make her a size 2, just so that I know it will fit her for a long time.  This one fits her perfectly, but you know how teenagers are with growth spurts… hopefully it will last her the summer.

     

    A cute dress to sew for teens and tweens, Coco dress pattern

     

    Below are the links to the fabrics and pattern from this post.  The links are not sponsored or affiliate links, but Girl Charlee did send me the fabric in exchange for a shout out or two

    .

    Mint Fawn Silhouette Jersey Knit

    Teal & White Stripe Ponte de Roma Knit

    Tilly & the Buttons Coco Dress Sewing Pattern (she’s in the UK but you can get a digi download)

    A cute dress to sew for teens and tweens, Coco dress pattern

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    About Author

    Melissa Mortenson

    Melissa Mortenson is a blogger, designer, and content creator. She is the Polka Dot Chair blog founder and has been sharing fresh and creative ideas with readers since 2008. She is the author of “Project Teen, Handmade Gifts your Teen will Actually Love.” Her work and designs have been featured on HuffPost, TODAY, Pioneer Woman, HGTV, BuzzFeed, Better Homes & Gardens, and many other established publications. Her first fabric line, “Derby Style,” debuted in January 2015 through Riley Blake Designs.  Additional fabric collections have followed it in subsequent years. A mom of 3, she considers herself lucky to be living in Kentucky.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Louise Ambrosi says

      March 30, 2015 at 9:26 am

      Oh that is so pretty and such fresh colours! I totally agree about finding appropriate clothing for a girl’s age! Here in the UK it seems that you have to start dressing them like teenagers from the age of 6-7!! This style of dress is perfect for this age and I’m sure your daughter feels very grown up and elegant but comfy too. Just lovely! I need to learn how to sew jersey!

      Reply
    2. Elizabeth at Pineapples and Polka Dots says

      March 30, 2015 at 8:28 pm

      This dress is so adorable! I love the fabrics and the shape. It would make an adorable tunic, too!

      Reply
      • Melissa Mortenson says

        April 06, 2015 at 12:20 pm

        Oh yes, that’s a good idea. I think she’s like a tunic, especially with summer coming up.

        Reply
    3. Sheila Perl says

      March 30, 2015 at 9:26 pm

      The dress for your daughter is just lovely and she looks smashing in it. I had to do a “double-take” on the fawn print for the top, at first I thought it was some of your wonderful “Derby” fabric and I thought, “I didn’t realize it came in knits, too” , how perfect!! I cleaned my glasses after reading your fabric description and had a closer look 🙂
      Yes, it is very difficult finding age appropriate clothing! Your dress is perfect!

      Reply
      • Melissa Mortenson says

        April 06, 2015 at 12:20 pm

        Thanks for the kind comments! you’re right it would coordinate with my Derby Style fabric pretty well! I’ll have to plan a project around it.

        Reply
    4. Tilly says

      March 31, 2015 at 8:37 am

      Beautiful! Such lovely fabric choices for the Coco dress 🙂

      Reply
      • Melissa Mortenson says

        April 06, 2015 at 12:19 pm

        Thanks Tilly! Love the pattern 🙂

        Reply
    5. Mariley says

      May 05, 2015 at 1:58 am

      Adorable! I want to make this so so bad! Just one thing.. I stink a sewing! lol 😉

      Reply
    6. Genny says

      March 23, 2017 at 1:58 pm

      Love this dress. Finding clothing for my 9yr old granddaughter is impossible.She is a plus size. 14-16 .Do you have her size patterns?

      Reply
      • Whitney says

        July 22, 2017 at 7:01 pm

        My almost nine year old is also in 14-16 and I’ve resorted to making her clothes as well since, as mentioned, buying age appropriate clothes for girls is quite difficult! She is head and shoulders above her peers, and a bit thicker as well. I’m going to give the coco dress a shot!
        Also, she is loving simple gathered skirts and they look lovely on her. Maybe your granddaughter would like those as well?

        Reply

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