Elli's Pink Dress

Here's a dress I made for Elli for church.

 

I love this dress! It didn't take long to make.
It's simple.
It's beautiful!

Here's the back. I even put a zipper in this one. Haven't done one of those since 2010.

The collar is made from white ribbon.
I gathered the middle, pinned to the neckline and sewed. 

Here's what I did basically. I took a pattern for a simple A-line dress. 

Look familiar? Yes, It's the same pattern from the gathered knit dress.
I don't know if it's resourceful or lazy but probably lazy that I use
the same pattern over and over until it basically falls apart. Anyway, take your pattern.

Cut out the front and back pieces. 

Cut out those same pieces again but cut like the picture below.

Do this to the front and back. This will make your zipper stronger 

and allow you to line your dress and not have to fold the neckline and armholes. 

Trust me, it's easier to just cut again and sew!

The pieces you should end up with

 Sew the lining just like you sewed your dress. Right sides together, sewing the sides and bodice tops together. Sew into your dress. Add a zipper. Embellish as you like!

 

Happy Girl in a Happy Dress!  

Thanks for reading!
Next post, I'll show you the matching skirt I made for sister Sophia

Knit Summer Dress

I found this dress over on Pinterest

Perfect for the summer time!
I thought Elli (my 3 year old) would love to play in this little dress.
I didn't want to buy it because that requires money so I decided to make my own!

And here it is!

Front

Back

Here's what I did. Take any dress pattern that will fit your girl (or yourself I suppose) that has sleeves. I used this pattern here for the pink dress on the left.

Cut out the front and back pieces only. I wanted to have the bottom longer, flowy and fun for running around in. So here's what I basically did with my pattern. Excuse my crappy amateurish drawing.

Sew your dress like normal. Right sides together, hem, etc.

Next you will add the sleeves.

Sorry there's no pictures of me making them so I hope this makes sense.

You MAKE the sleeves by cutting 4 long strips of fabric, preferably longer than your arm hole width, and sew right sides together. Turn right side out. Attach to arm holes and sew, adjusting the length as necessary. 

Lastly, you add your elastic.

Cut one long strip of fabric approx 2 times the width of your elastic. The more room you have to sew, the better! Pin it straight across where you want the elastic to go. Sew one long stitch on the top of your strip. Sew another stitch next to it. The distance between the two long stitches will be the elastic width. Stop about 1 inch before your second long stitch is complete. Insert elastic. Sew the elastic ends together. Close the hole. 

And there you have it!

Ta-Da!

 Pin on Pinterest, Pin with needles and sew!

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any questions!

Welcome!

I hope to post some pictures really soon! This blog is taking Pinterest sewing ideas and creating them in real life. I'll link the tutorials and answer questions about them. Please feel free to message me with any questions you may have! I've been sewing for over 10 years and I LOVE to make clothes for me and my girls! Please enjoy! =]