Burda Kids 9416 Dress Pattern Review

As soon as I saw this children's top and dress pattern by Burda I knew it was perfect to showcase my 'Joy's of Spring' fabrics. This playful, cute pattern encapsulates the carefree, fun feeling of my collection perfectly. The bow detailing on the shoulders and buttons down the back add to the sense of playful whimsy, which I absolutely adore!

The pattern comes in one size, encompassing ages 2-8 years old. We opted to create the dress for an 8 year old child, however this does have a little growing room due to the style of the dress, so I feel could easily fit a 9 year old. With the contrasting fabric at the bottom you could also lengthen this for a taller child, making this pattern very versatile.

Using my 'Joy's of Spring' quilting weight cotton we chose to use 'Springtide' in 'Spring Green' for the body of the dress and 'Flowerets' in 'Sunshine Yellow' for the bottom of the dress and bias binding. The original pattern doesn't call for bias binding around the arm holes, collar or button holes however we wanted to add our own twist to the dress and thought it helped accentuate the lovely yellows in the 'Springtide' pattern.

This pattern is perfect for a beginner dressmaker. We found the instructions concise and clear to read. It is also really easy to alter and we had no issues adding our bias binding. It didn't take us long to make up this dress and could easily be done in an afternoon if you are a proficient dress maker.

The only negative comment I would have from a design perspective is that because it is rear fastening with buttons, children might find it a bit tricky to dress themselves. The detailing however is very cute and having the buttons allows you to pick out colours from your print to add another level of interest to a simple design.

This dress has become a firm favourite in our house and my daughter loves to pair it with a longer sleeve top and tights for those not so sunny spring days. You could spend many hours playing with different colour combinations and patterns to create different looks. The loose fit is perfect for children who love to run around and play and this has easily become our new go-to outfit. But shh, don't tell everyone or they'll all want one!