Nellie Oleson’s Country Girls Dress

Hello sweet friends! This post is part one of two that features the Country Girls sew-along reveal. Today I am so excited to share Nellie Oleson’s Country Girls Dress.

The Inspiration

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the beloved television show Little House on the Prairie. Alison Arngrim brilliantly portrayed the ultimate bad girl, Nellie Oleson. 

Arngrim made her dazzling debut in the episode Country Girls which first aired on September 18, 1974. 

Oh how I hated Nellie! But I LOVED her clothing so much. 

I’m often asked what Ms. Arngrim is like in “real life”. She is lovely! So kind and tremendously funny. You can follow her on Instagram and Facebook. 

She also has two podcasts. The Alison Arngrim Show and Little House Fifty For 50. 

In planning the Little House 50th Costume Collection I knew I wanted to create a similar dress in yellow to commerate the golden anniversary. 

Many thanks to my friend, the amazing artist Eric Caron, who sent me these wonderful images to use in my research. 

In Case You Missed It

The Country Girls Sew-Along is a series sharing how you can create your own prairie style dress. 

Introduction: A Country Girls Sew Along

Here is the introductory video.

If you wish to view the video in a larger format just click on the black box in the lower left hand corner that says Watch on YouTube.

 

Week 2: Sewing A Prairie Dress

The patterns used in the sew-along are Simplicity 3723 (adults) and Simplicity 3725 (children).

For Nellie’s dress I primarily used View A but with a View B neckline.

 

Nellie Oleson’s Country Girls Dress

Alison Arngrim was just twelve years old when she took on the role of Nellie. This always blows my mind as she was SO GOOD in her role for someone so young. 

My Country Girl model is dear Stevie who is just eight and loves Little House. 

You might recognize Stevie as she also beautifully portrayed Mary Ingalls in THIS POST. 

One of the biggest challenges is to find a fabric that is similar enough to the original. In the inspiration photos you can see that the 50 year old fabric had pink and lavender floral sprigs. The yellow calico I selected is close in color and print size. 

The second iconic element is the gorgeous lace collar. This gem is from Edwardian era. It was found on eBay. 

The lace on the sleeves and skirt is also Edwardian and sourced from The Mad Anachronist. 

The skirt of the dress and the sleeves are a bit longer on Stevie compared to the original that Alison wore. I made the dress in a size 12 as a nod to Alison’s age. 

In viewing the original images closely it appears that there is shadowing at the base of the bodice and top of the skirt. This led me to believe that the original was two seperate pieces. This is actually a historically accurate technique. 

The bodice is attached to the skirt with a series of snaps or hooks and eyes. This allows for the growth of the child.

The back also closes with hooks and eyes. 

Thank you so much Stevie for making my Nellie dress dreams come true!

The dress will soon be headed to a California museum for a Little House on the Prairie 50th Anniversary exhibit. 

Come back on Thursday for the Country Girls part two reveal and accompanying YouTube video.

Laura