Using the Addison skirts with the Gold River Adventure Dress

UPDATE: The Addison Skirts pattern has been retired, but if you don't already have it, you can use the skirts from the Mabel Top Tunic & Dress in the exact same way with the Gold River Adventure Dress!

Here are the details on how to use the Addison skirts with the Gold River Adventure Dress:

CHOOSING SIZE

  • First, find the finished waist measurement for your Gold River Dress on the finished measurements chart (page 6 of the Gold River tutorial). FOR KNIT FABRIC, you want to use the circle skirt that most closely matches this measurement. NOTE: The circle skirt waist is in 1" increments and the Gold River Dress goes in 1/2" increments - if you are in the half sizes, SIZE DOWN your circle skirt for knit fabric (i.e. if the bodice is 20.5", use the 20" circle skirt).
  • YES, YOU CAN ALSO USE THIS FOR WOVEN! Although the Addison pattern was designed for knit, the build-your-own-circle-skirt feature makes it super easy to enlarge the waist hole adequately for woven, and adjust the length accordingly. For woven, you need to add 1-2" to the finished measurements listed on page 6 of the Gold River tutorial. Add less for stretch wovens, more for wovens with no stretch at all. You do not need to be super exact with this, because the elastic in the waistband will allow you to stretch the bodice to match the size of the skirt waist.
  • FOR LENGTH - check the Addison size chart on page 4 of the Addison tutorial to see what height size your child measures (it may be different from their height size on Gold River, as the dress has more size numbers). If it is the same size as the waist, you can use the marked peplum/tunic/dress lines for length. If not, you have two choices - either blend the waist and height sizes using the Addison instructions, OR find the height measurement for the mini and knee length skirts on the Gold River cut charts, and use the build-your-own-circle-skirt feature on Addison to cut a skirt (or layered skirts) to that exact length.

CUTTING AND SEWING

  • IMPORTANT!!! The seam allowance for the Gold River waist is 1/2", so you'll need to adjust the Addison seam allowance (which is marked at 1/4" and 3/8") to match.
  • YOU CANNOT USE THE PLACKETS WITH CIRCLE SKIRTS. Make sure you follow the directions for making the no-placket version of the Gold River Dress bodice.
  • When you have your Gold River bodice fully constructed, simply insert the bodice into the skirt as shown (right sides together). If you used elastic, you may need to stretch your waistband a little to match the size of the skirt - try to stretch it evenly and pin/clip, and stretch it gently while sewing too. Sew your waist seam (and finish the seam with a zig zag if you aren't serging), then hem the skirt(s) and you're done!