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224 Beautiful Dreamer for my mother

June 15, 2023 7 Comments on 224 Beautiful Dreamer for my mother

When we brought 224 Beautiful Dreamer back into print, I thought about how I might use this pattern in my own life. I don't tend to wear nightgowns anymore, though I absolutely love the idea of them and have several in my drawer. They are so romantic and beautiful, not to mention comfortable. Unfortunately, I can be a restless sleeper and my tossing and turning can make a nightgown wind around me like a towel being twisted.

But I know my mother loves a good nightgown and Mother's Day was coming up. This pattern fits all the categories for what she likes in a nightgown - wide enough to move easily and freely, long sleeves to be warm, and long enough to be below the knees. I had a beautiful teal linen in stock and I wanted to try View B with the ruffles and collar, but I wanted a little bit of a change of color for the ruffles so used a light tan color for the ruffles.

Older woman standing on a brick front stoop wearing a teal linen nightgown. Her hand is on the white railing.

I made a couple of changes to the pattern when I made this gown. First, View B is the longest view, at ankle length (for 5'6" person). I knew she would not really like an ankle-length gown, so I shortened it by about 9 inches. I also made the neckline without the buttoned placket. While the button placket is great for people with mobility issues or anyone who want an easier in-and-out, it was not necessary for her AND I also wanted a quicker sewing project.

This pattern takes a lot of fabric, but shortening the gown by 9" did save a lot of fabric (close to 1.5 yards). I also got creative with pattern piece placement. I made a size XL. One of the things I really like about this pattern is that the sizing fits a lot of different bodies. The XL fit my thin tall daughter (measures XS) quite well and it also fit her friend very well who measures in the larger end of our XL range. So if you are making this for someone else and don't have their measurements, you can guess to get close and you will likely be fine.

The instructions and illustrations are easy to understand. My only tips are to be sure to mark the pleat lines (fold lines and stitching lines - stitching lines are most important) well. And to take a little time with the ruffles. To get good looking ruffles, be sure to use two lines of gathering stitches. I like one in the seam allowance (about 3/8" from edge) and one just outside the seam allowance (about 5/8"). This helps shape the ruffle really well.

My mom LOVES her new nightgown and was so happy to get a new nightgown in a beautiful color she likes. And I'm always glad to sew things for people I love - and a major bonus when they like them! Are you going to try the 224 Beautiful Dreamer pattern?

7 Responses

Tanya

November 15, 2023

a beautiful gown for your beautiful mother! wonderful.

Dianna

September 13, 2023

Lovely, lovely!!! Thanks for sharing this. Another thing about FW patterns is you use REAL people as your models. Lori Kramer: IT IS LINEN. L.I.N.E.N.

Farar

August 01, 2023

A poster mentioned flannel, and I have made Beautiful Dreamer in terrific red flannel. You can tuck your feet up on a couch and be as toasty as can be. The tweaks I’ve made over the years have led me to ditch the cuff ruffles, because I always seem to get stuff on them, but this photo looks so lovely that I might have to reconsider.

Catherine Carter

June 15, 2023

I love this post, as my mother made this dress for me as a nightgown when I was in high school (1979). I believe it was pink. Such a flattering, feminine style – you do indeed feel beautiful in it!

Carolyn

June 15, 2023

I love this post and, especially, that your lovely mother likes the nightgown! I don’t like pj’s anymore, but I do like to lounge around in the evening, so the thought of this pattern in a cozy flannel appeals to me. I also think that making it in linen is a great idea, It won’t work for me as a nightgown becauae I, too, am a restless sleeper.