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Knock it Off - The Train to Crazy

Friday, December 7, 2012
To wrap up this week's knock-offs, is the wonderful Andrea, who blogs at The Train To Crazy.  She is a huge source of inspiration for me.  How she manages to sew, blog, design, own/manage Go To Patterns, and raise her brood of four is a mystery to me!  I've appreciated getting to know her in the blog world, as she is super kind and thoughtful, and a major source of knowledge.  Today, she's offering the pattern for her stylish version of this knock-off for free in select sizes!  See what I mean, she's awesome!  Thank you, Andrea!


Hello! I'm Andrea from The Train To Crazy and Go To Patterns. I love designing and sewing children's clothing. I blog about all types of sewing and handmade living. Stop on by!
I love European style for kids. Great clothes that are stylish without being cutesy. Not that cutesy doesn't have it's place. My kids prefer cutesy to stylish. But this time I got to choose the fabric and the style. That's good because while at the fabric store my daughter picked out a green and red poinsettia fabric that would be better suited to a Christmas day tablecloth. She said that all she wanted for Christmas was a dress made from that fabric. What do I say to that?
While perusing my Pinterest kid's style board I kept coming back to this outfit from Brian and Nephew, a children's fashion from The Netherlands.

I adore the color combiniation and the simplicity of the outfit. I'm a bit obsessed with that yellow mustard color right now. And I almost always pair it with blue. So I copied the outfit.
European-style-knockoff at budget price
Shift dress-2-4
cardigan: self drafteddress: Go To Shift Dressleggings: Go To Leggingsboots: Lands End 2009belt: leather cord
I set to work drafting a cardigan with that style of collar. I'd share it with you but you don't want to copy the way I did it! It looks fantastic but getting there wasn't that pretty. I self drafted the dress and fell in love. So I graded it up and down and it is now called the Go To Shift Dress. I'm offering it free in sizes 12 mo. & 18 mo. to all of you! The full pattern goes up to size 12 yrs.
Download the pattern HERE.
Shift dress collage

It is such an easy sew. A front bodice and a back bodice. A bit of bias trim and a button. I styled it here with a leather cord I got for $.49 a yard. Perfect.
Mustard shift dress collage 2
My cardigan drafting was a bust but there are some really cute cardi patterns out there right now. The Greenpoint cardigan is perfect for boys and girls. You can't go wrong there. With this dress I'd lengthen the cardi a bit. The Ruffled Cardigan is a great length with this dress. It is a bit shorter and the tie would be cute with this style.
Shift dress--3
 I've loved this series Heidi! Thanks so much for having me!

12 comments on "Knock it Off - The Train to Crazy"
  1. I love that color mustard too and your daughter is adorable. Love the outfit, thanks for the opportunity to try it out in the 12 & 18 month sizes.

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  2. Love this outfit and I love how it would work for the youngest to even a teen. Great job and thanks for the heads up of the clothing line. It's always fun to find new inspiration.

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  3. Your daughter is the cutest Andrea! Great knock off!

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  4. Love this Knock off!!! Your patterns are so awesome, Andrea. Thank you for the inspiration!

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  5. love this look -so glad you chose to give free the exact size I need ;o) The button back is perfection! Thank You!!!

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  6. Your daughter is ridiculously cute! I love this mustard dress. That gathered neckline is beautiful.

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  7. love your styling! This outfit is just perfect - what a perfect choice for a knockoff. Thanks so much for sharing:)

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  8. Seriously love your styling on this one - awesome knock off!! Love the mustard fo real.

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  9. What an adorable photoshoot and the dress is perfectly simple and chic.

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  10. Thanks for the downloadable patterns. You can't go wrong with mustard, now can you!?!?!? NICE!

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  11. Is the free pattern not available anymore?

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    Replies
    1. I don't think it is, but you can double check with Andrea from www.thetraintocrazy.com

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