Pillowcase Dress How To

Just finished the girls Easter Dresses!

And its still a week away.  I'm doing good.

Last year I made them very simple pillowcase dresses.  This year I got a little fancier (to keep the ribbon from slipping off their shoulders), but same simple idea.  Either project only takes a couple hours, and is easy. These dresses are great for Summer Time too.

 I will list instructions for both types of pillowcase dress below.  They are very similar but I only have a pic-toral "How To" for this years "Fancier" Pillowcase Dress.

Standard Pillowcase Dress

1. Measure to find desired length and the child's width.
2. Draw a small dress diagram and write down the measurements (pic below), and then adjust measurements allowing for hems and seem allowances: 7" longer and 1.75 times the width, (allowing for 4" hem at bottom, 2" hem/pocket at the top to run ribbon thru, 1" of seam allowance.)
3. Cut out 2 rectangles of fabric based on your measurements. 
4. With right side together, measure 5"-6" down from top, mark with a pin,  and sew side seems from that point down.
5. Going around the bottom of dress, fold under and iron 1/2" of fabric.  Then using a hem gauge set at 4", fold under and iron from the folded bottom of dress to create hem.  (The 1/2" fold makes it so the cut fabric ends up tucked in once the hem is sewn and that way it can't fray.) Sew hem in place at the top of the hem.
6. At the top, unsewn, part of the dress, fold fabric in (toward wrong side of dress) and iron a 1/2" then roll and iron again.  This once again tucks the cut edges under.  Sew these rolled edges creating the arm holes.
7. To create the hem/pocket for the ribbon at the top of the dress, follow step #5 but set your hem gauge to 2". Sew hem in place leaving ends opens, and creating a pocket to put ribbon thru.
8. Run ribbon thru pockets, then tie over child's shoulders.The dress will gather as you tighten the ribbon to the right width. (Look at the pics above.)

Fancier Pillowcase Dress 

1.  Measure to find desired length and the child's width. Also measure the distance from the center of one shoulder blade to the center of the other shoulder blade.
2. Draw a small dress diagram and write down the measurements (see pic), and then adjust measurements allowing for hems and seem allowances: 7" longer (allowing for 4" hem at bottom, 2" hem/pocket at the top to run ribbon thru, 1" of seam allowance), and 1.75 times the width at the top and then the bottom being 6" wider than the top to create fullness.
3. Using pins to mark the cutting lines and a long ruler, lay the fabric out--doubled/folded in half so you cut out both halves at the same time--and measure/mark where to cut out the dress based on your diagram.  (Hint: measure the bottom width, mark, then the height, then find where to cut the top by coming in 3" from the bottom width on each side, mark.  Lay long ruler between top and bottom and then pin along the ruler to find the diagonal line you want to cut on.) Cut out fabric.  (In bottom right pic I have circled the pins so you can see them better, I have measured and am about to cut.)

 

4.  Cut 2 rectangles that are 3 1/2" high and as wide as the measurement between the child's shoulder blades plus 1".  This will be used to create the pocket for the ribbon.

5.  Place right sides of dress togther.  Measure and mark with a pin 5"-6" from the top of the dress.  

6.  Sew from this mark down to the bottom of the dress, on each side.

7.  Iron seams out flat.

8.  To create a finished arm hole: fold unsewn fabric at top of dress over 1/2", iron down, and fold over again a 1/2", iron again.  Repeat on all 4 unsewn sides.  

9.  The bottom Hem.  Going around the bottom of dress, fold under and iron 1/2" of fabric.  Then using a hem gauge set at 4", fold under and iron from the folded bottom of dress to create hem. You will have some angled, horizontal fold in the hem too, because the fabric wider at the bottom than top. (The 1/2" fold makes it so the cut fabric ends up tucked in once the hem is sewn and that way it can't fray.) 

10.  Sew rolled edge of arm holes.

11.  Sew a reinforcement stitch at the bottom of arm holes.

12.  Sew bottom hem, near the top the hem, from the inside.

13.  To create gathers at the top of the dress, start by sewing a basting stitch with a 5/8" seam allowance, across the top of each side. Then gather the fabric by holding 1 thread on an end and pushing/working the fabric down the thread--gathering toward the middle--do the same thing on the other side, holding 1 thread and gathering toward the center.  The width of the gathered fabric will equal that of the shoulder blade measurement.

14.  Prep the ribbon pockets by folding and ironing over 1/2 of fabric on the short ends of  your rectangle fabric piece.

15.  Sew down this fold.

16.  Fold and iron over 1/2 of fabric on the long ends of rectangle.

17.  To finish dress, fold rectangle in half around gathered dress top, matching and then pinning the fabrics together on 1 end.  The rectangle will just barely cover the basting stitch, creating a pocket for the ribbon.

18.  With the 1 end pinned you can now adjust the gathers to the exact width of the rectangle.

19.  Pin every inch or so across this pocket/gather sandwich.

20.  Sew parallel seems, 1/2" and 1/8" from bottom of rectangular fabric.

 

#21  Thread very long length of ribbon thru pockets.  Tie over 1 shoulder.