Dress Tutorial

Instructions...  

1.  Start with a clean pillowcase or fabric tube (to make the seam on your tube either serge it, french seam it or straight stitch it and then go back and zig zag the seam).  If using a fabric tube you will need to hem your dress. 

2.  Cut off the top of the pillowcase (if using fabric tube this is not necessary) Fold the fabric in half lengthwise.  Placing armhole templates on the outside of dress cut out the armholes together.  When you open you dress you will end up with an armhole on each side.

3.  Fold down the top edge 1/4" and press (both back and front)

4.  Fold edge again... 1" to 1 ¼” and press.  This will become the neck casing for the elastic... do this on both the front and the back of the dress.  We sometimes fold the fabric over an extra ½” and add a second row of stitching which makes a cute ruffle above the casing. (but you must cut the armhole 1” longer if doing this)

5.  Sew.  The casing will fit 1/2" or 3/4" elastic.  If you are making the traditional casing, sew along the edge of the casing.  If you are making the casing with a ruffle, add a second row of stitching ½” from the top of the dress.

6.  Cut two pieces of elastic. (Use sizing chart to determine the length)

7.  Using a large safety pin thread the elastic into the casing...

8.  Sew securely (catching elastic), make sure the stitching is close enough to the edge not to show when you add bias tape.   

9.  Cut two pieces of double fold wide bias tape.  Use the chart to determine length.

10.  Find the halfway point of the bias tape... starting at the middle point under the arm match the halfway point of the bias tape and pin.  (Sandwich the dress between the folds of the bias tape, with the wider side of the tape on the underside.)

11.  Sew bias tape from one end to the other (There should be no raw ends on the bias tape!  Either sew across the bias tape at end to finish or sew in 1/3 from edge to secure).  Being sure to backstitch 6 to 8 stitches where the bias tape joins to the dress and at the ends of bias tape.

12.  Add a pocket and you are all done!!

suzannesewdlightful@gmail.com

Pocket Tutorial

Pocket Tutorial

Most of my dresses above size 1 have pockets on them.  I know this is not the way you were taught to do pockets but these pockets look cute and save quite a bit of time.

First, I like my pockets about 5" x 5" (unless I use the cutout

from the armhole) I always make my pockets 2 layers

I sometimes vary my shape (but keep the 5" width)

Fold over 1/4" of fabric at top

There are several things I like to use to accent the pocket.

One of my favorites is a vintage hankie.  Take 1/4 of a hankie... cutting it the same width as the fabric but about 1/2" above the top of the fabric.  Fold over the hankie at 1/2"

 Place hankie on the fabric so you have a finished edge at the top

If you are using lace as an accent cut it a little longer than the fabric and place on top

          Using rick rack cut it longer than the fabric and place on top

                             

Place you second piece of fabric on top with right sides together and pin. Sew together the sides and bottom leaving the top open

                                Clip corners and cut extra lace or rick rack off

    Turn the pocket right side out using a pointer to push corners and iron. If you have fabric showing at the top just push it into the opening

                                 

Stitch across the top making sure that you catch the folded over fabric inside and then add any accents

I often add a heart to the pocket

Buttons make an adorable accent!  

Just make sure you located them so that you can sew the pocket onto the dress

When sewing the pocket onto the dress be sure and backstitch at the beginning and the end!!

                                      Happy Sewing

T-Shirt Dresses

This another quick and easy dress that is suitable for some cultures where they require the girls to have sleeves.  I often have people ask where I get the t-shirts... well I use my Kohl's coupons for $10 off and shop the clearance racks.  I also shop at Goodwill, Value Village and garage sales... but there is a word of warning.  Please make sure that the t-shirts are "like new"... no visible signs of wear.  Also, please do not use t-shirts that have writing (even Daddy's Little Girl may not be appropriate if a little girl has never known her dad)... No skulls, no patriotic symbols, no organizational symbols... just generic designs like flowers and butterflies or plain solid colored t-shirts.

The first thing you have to decide is do you want the fabric attached in a high-waisted style, at the natural waist or at the hip.  All three work well... sometimes the design dictates where the fabric should be attached.

Here is an example of a dress I made yesterday...

I like to choose bright colors as you can see.

The first step is to find the size of your t-shirt and

then use this chart to determine the full length of your dress

Size                                     Total Cut Length (including t-shirt and fabric)

Baby  (size 1/2 and 1)                           16"

Extra Small (size 2  and 3)                   20"

Small (size 4 and 5)                             25"

Medium (size 6 and 7)                         29"

Large (Size 8 and 10)                           33"

Extra Large (Size 12 and 14)                38"

These sizes include 1/2" for hem and 1/2" for serging together... so the finished length is 1" shorter.

Lay your t-shirt over the edge of your cutting board.  The chart is for our regular pillowcase style dresses, so we are not measuring from the top of the t-shirt... we are measuring from the point that would be the same as the top of a pillowcase dress.  I always put my hand on my chest and visualize where I would want the top of a dress to be and that is the point on the t-shirt we will measure from.

I decided to make a slightly high waisted dress.  The measurement from the top middle chest to where I cut the t-shirt is 5"  Now I subtract that 5" from the total length of a size 3 dress (which is 22") and I need to cut m fabric 18" long (this includes the extra 1"… see above) by the full width.  I want my fabric to be about double the width of the circumference of the t-shirt so on larger dresses I might need to cut 1 1/2 lengths of fabric and sew a seam to get this double the width of the t-shirt.  Depending long how long you cut your t-shirt… you will adjust the length of the shirt… not all dresses need to be high waisted…you can also make the dress at the natural waist or even a low-waisted dress.

Sew the side seam and then finish the bottom of your fabric.  Make sure that you finish your side seam... by either serging or by sewing a straight stitch and then a second row of zig zag stitching...

so that the seam does not ravel.

I chose to add lace to my hem.  You can also do a traditional hem or a rolled hem.

If you are using the traditional method for gathering fabric pull your bobbin thread to the top

Set your machine onto it longest stitch.  For my machine that is a 5

Stitch two rows about 1/4" apart

I have not done a side seam because I am not doing the traditional way of gathering

(I will show you how I gather in a moment)

Now you need to pull your gathering stitches gently forming gathers

Gather your fabric the amount you need to fit onto your t-shirt

Using a serger or a zig zag stitch with right sides together attach your gathered skirt 

to the bottom of the cut t-shirt

Now for the way I am doing my dresses...

My serger has a ruffling foot

Check you machine and if you have a ruffling foot it can save much time on the gathering part of this project.  You will need to follow the instructions for your machine.

On my machine I ruffle or gather the fabric and attach it to the t-shirt in one step… 

using this method you do not sew the side seam!!

The fabric is placed face up under the ruffling foot and the t-shirt is placed face down into the slot on the ruffling foot.  The serger automatically gathers the bottom fabric while attaching it to the t-shirt.  You have to be careful to ease your t-shirt gently so that you do not run out of fabric.  Some rufflers just gather the fabric and then you attach to the t-shirt in a separate step.

This saves so much time when making a t-shirt dress

Once the fabric is attached I sew the side seam

And you are done!!

If you have any questions about the process please email me at

suzannesewdelightful@gmail.com

I found that this process is actually easier to do than it is to explain how to do.

Halo Headband

This is the second kind of headband that I made and took to Kentucky for the Princess Party.  Some of the girls wore them with the fancy part on the side of their head and some wore them with it down the back.

First take two pipe cleaners and twist together to make a circle

Then tape the twisted area with masking tape to cover the sharp ends of the pipe cleaner.

Then wrap the circle in ribbon.  You can choose any kind of ribbon you would like.  The circle on the left is wrapped with velvet ribbon that came in a bag of trim from Goodwill.

The center circle is wrapped with a long strip of fabric about 2 1/2" wide.

The right circle is wrapped in satin wedding type ribbon.

Once the circle is tightly wrapped glue the end with a glue gun. 

This is the spot that you will add your ribbons and other accents to.

You can add a second thinner ribbon to make the headband fancier...

See the first picture from Kentucky.

Use 1/8" or 1/4" ribbon to hang down.

Cut your ribbon about 30" or less.

Tie the ribbon onto the circle and then glue.

I had a large flower and cut the petals apart to make this headband.  

And then I added a smaller flower in the center

This headband has a puff ball and small flowers as accents

I glued the leaves on first and then added a large flat flower.

Be creative and have fun!!

All the info you need to make a dress!!

Here is the link to everything you need to sew dresses..

http://sewdelightful.blogspot.com/search/label/pattern

Tips and Guidelines

Hints and Tips:  Most Important… make sturdy dresses.  We need a dress that will last!!  Many of these dresses will be washed in rivers or on a washboard with harsh homemade soaps.

Fabric

When choosing pillowcases or fabric put your hand under the fabric if you can see the outline of your hand then that fabric is too light!!  And any dress made out of it cannot be used.

Lightweight Fabrics

If you have fabric or a pillowcase that is too lightweight, use it to make bias tape.  Or if you have a wonderful antique pillowcase and the fabric is too lightweight use another pillowcase under it as a lining... cut the tops and armholes at the same time and sew them as if they were one pillowcase.  Other suggestions include making a pinafore over top of the lightweight pillowcase or line the lightweight pillowcase and use it as the skirt on a t-shirt dress.  These ideas can be done before you make the dress or, as a solution when receiving dresses made out of lightweight material.

Materials

Please make straps out of bias tape not flimsy materials.  And only use items intended for garments.  Everything must be washable.  No craft ribbon or raffia.  When making a longer dress make a kick pleat at the bottom and reinforce the top of the kick pleat inside of dress.

        

Backstitching

Always... did I say always... yes always backstitch at the ends of the bias tape... and especially where the bias tape joins the top of the dress (both back and front) and at the top of the pockets. 

Elastic

We have found that making the elastic one-inch longer for the back casing of the dress makes for a better fit.  We generally use ½” or ¾” for the casings.

Straps

Please make sure that your straps are long enough.  But on baby dresses do not make them too long (choking hazard).  We recommend:

Baby                    27"
XS & Small           34"
Medium                36"  

Sewing

Please attach all items by sewing… Not by gluing.

When adding appliqués please finish the edges.

Ruffles

They are sew cute and they add sew much to dresses... check and see if your sewing machine or serger has a ruffling foot... it makes these cute accents go sew much more quickly.  

Seams

When making a fabric tube I often put the seam in the center back because it just looks more like a regular dress with the seam there.  Whether you put the seam in the back or on the side please make sure that it is a serged seam or that you finish that seam off in some way... zigzag the seam after straight stitching it or french seam it.  If you just straight stitch the seam it will ravel and that dress will not last long!  Be sure you totally enclose the selvage in the seam.

Hope that helps!!

High Waisted Dress Tutorial

I found a little more of this fabric that was donated last year and wanted to make a pink princess dress for Rachel's Pink Princess Party in Uganda in April.  I have had questions about how to make this style dress...so here is the tutorial for the high waisted ruffle dress.  This is a size 8/10 dress... just adjust lengths based on the size of dress you would like to make.

First, I cut a length of fabric 11" long... and the full width of the fabric...I was using scraps so mine is actually two pieces of fabric 11" long by 21" wide that I needed to sew a side seam 

Only sew one side seam if you are using a ruffling foot because your fabric needs to be open on one side

I then made the ruffle 19"long x 88"

 (I used two lengths of fabric 19" long x 44" wide and sewed them together again only sewing one side seam leaving a long piece of fabric)

I used my serger to make a rolled hem

Then I used my ruffling foot to add the ruffle in one step...

you place the fabric to ruffle on the bottom (face up)

and the bodice of the dress (face down)

The machine ruffles and attaches the two together all in one step

You can also do this step by hand...

stitching 2 long running stitches (stitch length 5) side by side

along the full width of the fabric to be ruffled, near the top 

and then pull the threads, adjusting the width of the fabric

 until the ruffled piece fits with the bodice piece and then sewing together

Iron the dress... (when using a ruffler you sew the last side seam after you ruffle and attach the bodice)

We are making a different casing so

Cut out the armhole 1" longer than the template

(I have also found that I like my armhole a little narrower than the template)

Press over the top 1/4"

Both front and back

Press over the fabric again... this time at 1 3/4"

Both front and back

Now stitch across the fabric at the lower edge

And then sew across the top 1/2 from the top

Cut elastic 7" for the front of the dress and 8" for the back

Put a safety pin into the end of the elastic

Insert the pin and elastic into the center part of the casing

Do Not insert the elastic in the top part of the casing this area will form a ruffle

Stitch the ends of the fabric and elastic to secure the elastic

Cut two pieces of bias tape... each 34"

When you look at your bias tape one side is wider than the other side

Be sure and put the wider side on the inside of the dress 

Find the half way point of the bias and the half way point under the armhole 

and match them up pinning them together

Squeeze the end of your bias tape so that the edges are not as wide as the tape... 

this way the edges will not show when you sew the end of the bias tape

Then fold over the bias tape

When I start sewing my bias tape I start a little to the center of the tape at the end 

and then ease over to the edge and continue sewing at the edge

Make sure that the wider side of the bias tape is on the bottom this way if you are catching the top of the bias tape you will be sure to sew on the wider bottom part of the tape.

Always back stitch at the beginning and also at the end of your sewing

Also, be sure and back stitch where the bias tape meets the dress

If you have an questions just email me at

suzannesewdelightful@gmail.com