Rebecca's Dress Tutorial

This is my first tutorial so I hope I'm good at explaining everything. I have had this picture saved on my desktop since before I had a baby girl. Decided that today was the day!!

I started by finding a simple shirt that was just a little big on her. I folded a piece of paper in half and made a pattern.

 Then I drew lines on the pattern where I wanted the pleats to go. I thought 1/2 inch looked great.

I made one line at 3/4 of an inch by mistake so forgive me. (those are the squiggled out lines)

Then I drew a line for the neck one inch above the top pleat and connected it to the shoulder seam. I didn't measure just what I thought looked right was fine for me.

I flipped that piece over and traced the pattern piece onto another paper and added one inch for the button to over lap in the back. Made the neck a gentle curve for the back of the dress.

For the sleeve I really had no idea of what to do. I put the pattern front piece on another paper and traced the arm hole. I knew I wanted it gathered so I added about another inch to allow for that.

Added the seam allowance and that was that :)

Next cutting. I decided it would be really easy to pleat first then cut. But I didn't want to take all the fabric to the ironing board. So I placed the front top pattern piece onto the fabric. I put my ruler down to add the 5 inches needed. Then I gave myself an extra inch or two just in case.

Armed with my smaller square I headed to the ironing board. I used my pattern as a guide to know about where to put the first fold.

So you fold it back then iron.  Lay it flat and pinch the pleat up. Then iron it flat.

Easy Peasy!

Repeat that 5 times!!

The back will look like this:

I am not a perfectionist, and you can see how hard measuring was for me when I was making the pattern, so I just did it by eye. If you are having troubles, spray starch will be your best friend. You can also pin!! Just don't iron the pin heads if you have plastic ones.

Then I took that to the sewing machine and sewed down each pleat so I knew it would stay during washing.

Now all the prep work is done the rest is pretty straight forward for a little girls dress.

I put the pattern for the front on the fabric that I just pleated,  lining up the pleats and cut it out. Then cut another one from regular fabric for the facing. Cut 4 of the back piece (two are for facings.) and two sleeves.

Sew the outside at the shoulder seam and set aside. Then do the same for the facings.

Next do a tight zig zag seam along the outer edge of the sleeve. When I started at the pointy end my machine ate the fabric a little bit. So For the second sleeve I started in the middle and worked my way to the edge. Then I flipped it and sewed back. I also did a long basting stitch on the opposite side starting and finishing about an inch from the edge. Then gather the inside.

Go back to your pleated top and sew in the sleeves. I started about a half inch from the bottom and sew in.

Then get your facings. Pin right sides together. Start with the neck line in the center and sew out. And sew down to the bottom.

Next sew around the sleeves. They will be inside the fabric sandwich. You will not be able to see them as you are sewing around the sleeves.

Snip the curved seams. And The back corner where the buttons will go.

Next you have to turn it right sides out. You will have to pull it through the shoulder seams. I don't really know how to describe how to do it. So hopefully you understand.

Then sew the side seams down. Do the facings separately from the pretty outside. There will be no seams showing at all if you did it right. The bottom will still be open.

Next you have to put in the buttons holes for the back. I got those buttons from our "school supplies" I use them to practice making pattens with the boys. There were tons of cool shapes in rainbow colors. I love just using what I have on hand. I also sewed the back shut just at the bottom so I could put in the skirt.

The skirt is just a gathered rectangle. I made it one and a half times the width front and back. Or three times the front of the dress. Mine is 10.5 inches tall.

For the ruffle around the bottom I made a strip twice as long as the top and 6 inches wide. I ironed it in half then gathered it. So you don't have to hem!!

Yay you have a dress now. You just need to make it prettier. 

I sewed a one inch gross grain ribbon just across the front. Leaving each edge of the ribbon free to tie in the back. I just sewed at the top of the ribbon. Covering where the top and bottom of the dress is joined. I actually drew a line on the front of the fabric to make sure I got it on straight. It's pretty awkward to sew around the inside after the skirt is attached.  Oh and before I sewed it in I made a little loop to attach the bow. Just like on a head band. Make sure you burn all the edges with a lighter so they wont fray.

Finally the Bow!! It is literally just a hair bow. I wanted to be able to take it off when I wash the dress so it will always look good :)

If you want a tutorial for that I'll have to do it another day. It is a very basic bow. And if you have ever made a hair bow then this would be very easy to figure out!!