Hi All!
Are any of you fans of Charlie Brown and the whole Peanuts gang? I am! Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve grown up loving Peanuts. I’ve read all the comics, and I’ve spent countless hours in front of the tv watching any and every Peanuts cartoon and movie special. I was one of the lucky ones who owned a Snoopy Sno-Cone Machine, and a lunch box in the 80s (alas, no more…) .
Over the years, my love for Peanuts nostalgia just continued to grow. Since then, I’ve collected more Peanuts memorabilia here and there: mainly dvds of all the cartoons, books, some clothing, pins, toys, etc. I love Peanuts so much that even my youngest son’s middle name is Linus, after my absolute favorite character (I tried for Snoopy, but that was immediately shot down by Hubby...🤷🏻♀️) Ironically enough though, it was my eldest son who, for the majority of his childhood, OBSESSIVELY carried around a blue baby blanket everywhere he went! He should have been Linus!
My very own little “Linus” and his blue Blankie (Still has it too!) ☺️
Just this past week, something exciting happened for me: I was finally able to locate and get a hold of some awesome Erstwilder Peanuts brooches! I have been obsessing over these FOREVER!
The Erstwilder Peanuts collection. Image via Erstwilder Official on Twitter
This collection first came out way back in 2020, but in true Erstwilder fashion, as soon as any new sets debut, you have to snatch them up quick because they sell out super fast! I was obviously not lucky back then, but now I managed to find a great seller on eBay who has many Peanuts brooches for sale!
While I would looove to have every character, I aimed for my most favorite ones: Linus, Snoopy, and Charlie Brown (Luckily, I found a CB brooch and am currently waiting for it to ship out and deliver, so my trio will be complete soon!) And of course you see that lovely piece of Peanuts Comic fabric in the background! This brings me to the point of my post.
Now that I have my beloved brooches in possession, I obviously need something to wear so I can display them, right?? Well, something in a Peanuts print is the way to go, IMO. For my fabric, Joann Craft has a nice collection of prints so that’s where I started my hunt. There were a few that I liked, but I fell in love with this black and white cotton print:
The great part was at the time I was at my local store, Joann’s was having a 50% off fabric sale, so I ended up with a great deal! When it comes to novelty fabric, I love a good comic book panel. The black and white is fabulous, but I would totally still get this if it were in color too! I took time to read through the comic before cutting. I love the block with Linus and Snoopy. It reminds me of that part in Snoopy, Come Home when they both get into quite the scuffle because Snoopy tries to steal Linus’s blanket. It’s soooo funny!
I decided on making a dress, naturally. I really love the Simplicity 2444 pattern for, well, it’s simplicity! If you omit the extra design details like the collar and tie sash, you’re left with a simple, no-fuss dress that still manages to be cute and flattering at the same time. **I will admit that I cheated a little bit with the skirt though. Instead of using the pleated skirt, I opted for a simple gathered rectangle skirt.** That’s the only other changed I made. I did so because I wanted something just a little bit fuller. For maximum fullness skirts, I tend to like and use Gertie’s skirt patterns/tutorials often, simply because that is her style when it comes to her own makes.
Construction was really simple and went by quickly because I’ve sewn this pattern before and is therefore already properly fitted. The bodice has not one, but two front waist darts, which adds a nice design element, along with a flattering waistline (I suppose this also has much to do with the waist ties and pleated skirt if you follow the pattern explicitly). The back bodice has a dart on each side as well.
If you omit the collar detail, the neckline will be slightly wide and almost like a boatneck. I really love this look in particular which is why I will likely be using this bodice block as my “go-to” for other dresses in the future. Plus, it just fits me right without having to change much. The collar is finished with standard facings.
On a previous dress, I used 3/4 sleeves. I went for the short cap sleeves this time around. I added an inch to the length because I don’t like really short cap sleeves. I may not have needed to do this tbh, but ehh. It’s fine. To make it easier on me, I attached them flat.
As I said, I used a simple gathered rectangle skirt to finish my dress as opposed to the one in the actual pattern. Here’s how the skirt looks on my other S2444 dress that I made a while back (which coincidentally also happens to be a comic strip print called “Sewing Woes” by Alexander Henry)
After attaching the skirt to the bodice and hemming to knee length, all that’s needed is a back zipper and you’re done!
And here is my Peanuts dress!
As you can see from afar, the comic print is bold, but not so overwhelming and “in-your-face.” For simple fit and flare dresses, I think I’m going to stick to this length for skirts from now on unless the pattern calls for something drastically mini or maxi. I quite like this proportion with my height, which is SHORT (5’1″ for reference).
Here is a little bit of a closer look of the print, front darts, and gathered skirt. When I was cutting my fabric, I was nervous because the comic was printed slightly off the grain. I was torn whether to align my cuts with the print, or just cut on the grain as usual. Cutting on the grain meant that the comic strip wouldn’t cut straight and the print would end up looking a bit warped and slanted. However, I know that not cutting along the grain properly will result in an ill-fitting, weirdly skewed feeling garment, and I did not want that at all. So I cut along the grain and found that even though parts of the comic got cut off in a weird way, it’s not very noticeable in the end due to the skirt being so gathered.
I’m still waiting on my Charlie Brown brooch to get delivered, so for now I’m showcasing Linus and Snoopy. Aren’t they super cute? At first I tried accessorizing my dress with a red belt, but I ended up not wearing it because I wanted the brooches to stand out. I made the right choice. They add a perfect splash of color to the background of the dress and totally stand out on their own.
My youngest son with the actual Linus namesake decided to stop by and highjack my photoshoot. Such a cutie!
So there you have it. If you are looking for a simple dress that is equally simple to sew, I recommend giving the Simplicity 2444 a try!
Sew Long, Lovelies,
Sew What, Gilly? 