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by Esi Hutchinson
Our 261 Paris Promenade Dress is such a unique pattern to make a flowing and vintage style dress that originates from the early 1900s. The pattern is based on a garment in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC (Folkwear and the MET collaborated on some projects in the early 1990s). But this dress has a very unusal construction method -- very differnt that the typical dress construction. The dress is voluminous and only has 3 main pattern pieces, but how they fit together is a bit tricky. We have a great little tutorial on how they go together using a small paper model (you can also see the video here). But customers have asked for us to show how to do it with real fabric. However the large fabric sections are very hard to photograph or video. So we decided to try this option: making a tutorial for sewing this dress in minature -- for Molly's American Girl doll she had as a child also named Molly. And do check out all the other resources we have for making this dress, including using lace, sheer fabrics, and velvet.
This sew-along will demonstrate how to make the 261 Paris Promenade Dress as if you were making it for yourself, but I will be making this dress on a small scale using some left over fabric scraps. For this size doll, I used about 1/2" yard for the main and contrast fabric. I scaled down the pattern on the computer using Adobe Illustrator by taking the measurements of the height, roundness of the arms, and especially the head. I was able to get the pattern pieces scaled for the doll's size
For this dress the suggested fabrics are light to medium-weight fabrics with drape, such as silk, silk velvet, rayon, feather-weight cotton, or jersey. However, you can also use fabrics with more body, such as crisp cotton like a poplin, lightweight linen, and silk taffeta. Check out our fabric selection we have some beautiful cotton florals that can be used for the main fabric or contrast fabric, and a nice selection of hankerchief and dress weight linen fabric as well.
This pattern is fairly easy to make, but as I said before, the construction is a bit unusual and can be confusing. Hopefully, this sew-along will clear that any difficulty you may have.
Be sure to transfer all lines, dots, and squares for your size to your fabric pieces from your pattern pieces.
Let's begin!
Sewing Main Dress
For the Neck facing B, finish all outer edges by serging or turning a scant ¼”(6mm) to the wrong side and stitching close to the folded edge.
With the right sides together, starting at the Center Back, stitch the Neck Facing to the center of Dress A, matching stitching lines and dots. This will be the opening for the head. Stitch a continuous line around the neck edge as indicated on the pattern piece Neck Facing B, pivoting as needed for the stitching. The best way to do this is to transfer the lines to the fabric with marking pens/pencils so that you can see the lines and sew along the neckline easily.
Now, carefully slash through both layers of the fabric between the stitching lines from dot to dot. Then, trim seam allowances to ⅜" (1cm).
Turn the Neck Facing to the inside of the dress and press the edges. You can topstitch along the pressed edge if you like. This keeps the facing from turning to the outside.
Adding the Overdress
NOTE: If you want to add embroidery, appliqué, or other embellishment to front and/or back bib, do it now, before sewing the Overdress to Overdress Lining. You can also apply a stabilizer to the wrong side of bib, to support the embroidery or applique stitching. If adding ball fringe to edges of Overdress, baste the fringe to the right side of the Overdress along the upper and lower seamlines, with balls pointing toward Overdress. I did not add any embroidery or embellishments, so that won't be shown.
For the Overdress, with right sides together, stitch the triangular bib-shaped upper edge of Overdress C (larger piece) to Overdress C Lining (smaller piece), matching the notches. Leave the seam unstitched till the last ½" (1.3cm) at each side edge.
Trim the seam allowances and clip the curves. Turn the Overdress/Overdress Lining right side out, and press. Repeat with second Overdress/Overdress Lining.
Now we will work on the Skirt D piece. First, reinforce the center point of Skirt D by sewing ½” (1.25cm) on either side of point at the seam allowance, using very small stitches and pivoting at the point. Clip close to point but do not clip the seam allowances.
With right sides together, stitch the Skirt D to the Overdress/Lining assembly at the angled seam, matching notches. Press the seam allowances toward the Skirt. Repeat with second the Overdress/Skirt.
Now we add the Overdress/Skirt assembly to the Dress. Take the right side of the lower edge of the Dress and pin it to the right side of the lower edge of the Overdress Lining only (make sure the main Overdress/Skirt is out of the way), and stitch together. Press the seam down towards the Skirt. Do this for the front and back of the dress.
If you want to make your sash using fabric instead of a decorative cord tie, you will following the instructions in the pattern and add the sash to the bib (here's where you don't want to stitch the entire Overdress bib to the dress before adding the sash).
I used a ribbon for the sash for the doll's dress instead of making a sash, but it is done the same way.
Insert the sash under front bib, centering the sash under bib, and lining up the top edge of sash with the marks at the sides of the bib. Hand stitch the sash to the bib invisibly at the sides of the bib only.
This was fun making the dress for this doll! It great seeing a Folkwear dress on what I would consider an iconic part of many girls' childhoods. I even made a tiny reticule for Molly -- also from the 261 Paris Promenade Dress pattern.
And if you are curious about the American Girl dolls, many of the American Girl doll stories were based on specific periods of American history, a way for young girls who could afford these dolls to learn about their lives; though the books were great and very accessible. The American Girl books were from the view point of these characters from different time periods, with different cultures, religions, and social statuses in America. The first three main dolls were Kirsten Larson (American immigrant pioneer to the west in the 1850s), Samantha Parkington (orphan adopted by wealthy grandmother in late Victorian/early Edwardian era) , and Molly McIntire (living through WWII) - our model here.
I hope that this tutorial helps you understand a little better how to make the 261 Paris Promenade Dress. A gorgeous (and comfortable) dress perfect for showing off amazing fabric.
MrsWu
September 05, 2025
Wow, this Molly tutorial helped so much! It was fun to make. Thinking about that odd self-lined skirt feature, I wonder if the intended fabric was to be very light/filmy, so that an additional layer was used in place of wearing a full slip underneath. If I made it again, I would probably omit that extra layer in the skirt. But I won’t use this pattern again; instead, I am passing it to an expectant mother who will likely modify it to accommodate a nursing panel. Fun dress! Thanks for keeping these old-fashioned styles going.