The Puperita Doodle Dress is a lovely little outfit that runs from newborn to ten years. I’ve made Ember a couple of these now and they always look lovely when complete. They can be made with short or long sleeves, making the pattern versatile and suitable for all seasons, and the circle skirt is adorable and popular with little girls who love to twirl. For this review, I made View B, which is the dress with long sleeves.
What I Loved
- Photo instructions are available for every step.
- Layers are available for the PDF file so you only need to print the size you need.
- Despite having a circle skirt, this dress doesn’t require as much fabric as you’d think – just half a metre for the newborn size, and up to a metre for 3 months to 9 years!
- Instructions are available for those who prefer to buy pre-made cuffs.
- The finished outfit looks lovely and the skirt is adorable.
What Wasn’t So Great
- I didn’t find the instructions on this pattern as easy to follow as on some other children’s patterns. Thankfully there are photos for each step but the way the instructions are written is confusing at times. I don’t think I would recommend this to someone who hasn’t made a similar dress before.
- Circle skirt hems FML.
Pattern Tips
- The sizes are slightly bigger for this pattern than in comparable other ones. I made the 18 month dress for Ember, which translates to 12-18 months in UK sizes. Just worth keeping in mind that you may want to size down unless you need growing room. A detailed measurement chart is included.
- If you’ve got the MBJM Emi Dress pattern, you can pretty much follow the instructions for that dress – it’s much easier.
Final Verdict
The Puperita Doodle Dress makes a lovely little outfit. However the instructions aren’t as clear as they are on other patterns so I unfortunately wouldn’t recommend this to anyone who hasn’t made a circle dress before.
The Puperita Doodle Dress requires a stretch fabric such as cotton jersey or interlock, and ribbing is required for the cuffs and neckband. The PDF version can be purchased from Etsy for £6.26. It is available in sizes newborn to age 10.
