Homemade Dirndls

When it comes to making “things” for my kids, their wish is usually my command. Within reason, of course.


Recently, we found out about this German Festival in our town which happens three times a year. So in July we went for the first time, expecting a few wannabe Germans drinking beer and having a good time. What we found was a giant Beer-garden-type setting with thousands of people. In short: it was a lot of fun. Among other things they also had a traditional southern German dance group performing. The girls fell in love with the dresses the ladies were wearing. Naturally, they requested to have their own. The dresses, called Dirndl, can be very expensive if you try to purchase an original.

So, I decided to figure it out on my own. I really only had two requirements to meet: they had to look like the real deal and they had to be blue. I made a few sketches and this is the one I went with.

I decided on a Linen-Look fabric from Joann’s and a couple of cotton prints which I had in my stash and matched the color scheme. The Linen-Look fabric is perfect, as it has a nice drape and is easy to care for (it doesn’t wrinkle).

Just in time for this year’s last festival I had both of them ready. The girls were SOOO excited to wear them.

The typical Dirndl just has a gathered skirt, but I opted for a circle skirt, just so they can twirl better ;-).

I was also planning to make white peasant blouses for each of them, but took the wrong measurements and majorly screwed the first one up. See the "neckline" in this picture? (Aweful!)

After that I didn’t feel like trying again. Luckily, we still have temps in the 80s, so the dresses and aprons by themselves were fine.



See you soon with some back-to-school gifts for the kids.