Friday, November 15, 2013

Little Girl's Pillowcase Dress




 So....I really wanted to make some sort of piece of clothing for a kid, BUT I needed something fast and easy. 
Out came the Little Girl's Pillowcase Dress! It's super cute, super duper easy, and it's really fast to make. 
I apologize for the horrible strange quality pictures. The lighting was bad, 
and I had the color vibrancy turned up from a previous photo shoot, so it totally was too bright with all that pink chevron. Oops!!
Since I don't have a little girl to model for me, the pictures don't do this lil' dress justice, but it is seriously cute. 
You can make this in pretty much any size you want just by lengthening, widening, etc.
UPDATE: If you make the dress the size I did, it will fit anywhere from a 3-5 year old, depending on how long you like to have dresses. I prefer them to be below the knee, in which case this would be perfect for a 3-4 year old.
Note: I say "serge or sew" in some places in this tutorial. I serge because we have a serger, but if you don't, just sew the seams at about 3/8". 
I used Riley Blake chevron in gray and pink, with the gray going vertically, while the pink is horizontal.
To begin:
Cut out the pieces as follows:
2 main body pieces: 20 1/2" x 23 1/2" each
2 hem pieces: 4 7/8" x 23 1/2" each
1 neck-tie piece: 3 7/8" x 43"

Iron under the bottom edge of your hem pieces 1/4". Iron under again.
Make sure you treat the selvage (finished ~ NOT cut) edges as the top of your main body piece.
Iron under the side arm seam about 1/4", down to 10 1/2" from the bottom as shown in the picture. Iron under again.

Sew the hem on your bottom hem pieces right next to the edge as shown in the picture below.

Sew the arm seams right next to the edge, like you did on the hem pieces. I found that it was easier to start on the <--- bottom of the armhole, ending at the top. (Yes....my seam is shamefully crooked. That's what happens when you hurry. Don't hurry. Or you end up with a uh...shabby chic seam, as I like to call it.)

Serge or sew each hem piece to each main piece with right sides together, making sure you are sewing the raw edges together, not the hemmed edges!

Serge or sew the body pieces together, with right sides together, matching up the bottoms exactly. Start on the bottom, ending at the armhole seams. Just veer out to the edge once you reach the armhole seams. It's a lil' tricky, but you can do it. 

Iron under the top of each main body piece about 1 3/4".

Sew the seam about 1/4" or so from the edge, as shown. 

Serge or sew the neck-tie piece, with right sides together, leaving one end open.

Turn right side out and press out the seam with a metal ruler, or some un-melty object.

Feed the end through your body piece, and DONE! Hooray! Now to ruin your day: tie the ends and feed them through the fabric. I know. It's really not fun. Once you're done though, it's super rewarding.
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4 comments:

  1. Hi!! Thank you for taking the time and pains of putting of a tutorial. I know so coz with me, I never really have the guts to post tutorial thinking about all the photography (which I suck at), the process of writting it up etc...

    The dres is gorgeous! Would you mind me asking what age/size it could a child? Thank you.

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  2. Shanny - Thanks for asking and for the comment! The dress would fit a 3, 4, or 5 year old, depending on how long you like dresses to be. I prefer them below the knee, in which case this would be perfect for a 3 or 4 year old. Thanks! :-)

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  3. super cute... I've never made a pillowcase dress, but they are so simple and SO cute too. I just want wanted to let you know that I've put together a post called 20+ free sewing patterns for kids and this is part of it!! I've spread the word all around and I hope you will see some extra visits ;o) Emily http://nap-timecreations.com/2014/04/20-free-sewing-patterns-for-kids.html

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