I Love Making Dresses.

So, I was on Zulily the other day and the brand Caught Ya Lookin' was being featured.  They had the following super cute dresses:

I almost bought one, but then I decided I wanted to attempt to make one.  We had a little girl's birthday party to go to, so it was the perfect time to try it.  Here's how it turned out:

I probably should've put together a real tutorial for this, but I think I can talk you through it because it's super easy.  Really it is.

You need:
-1 yard of fabric that you like
-Enough ribbon to make shoulder ties  (To make sure you're covered, have 2 1/2 yards)
-Some elastic band-not too firm, so it's comfy.  Measure your cutie, so it fits under her arms across the chest.
-Some notions to jazz it up a bit (trim, buttons, etc)

1)  I turned the fabric inside out, folded my fabric in half & hemmed down the one side (of course this only works with single width fabric)  Also, do pin it & use your little model to see if it'll work.  Remember that it will be gathered at the top because of the elastic, so it could be pretty wide.

2)  You have to make a big cuff at the top, double roll it under (to prevent fraying) & hem it.

3)  Measure for the height of your elastic band & then stitch for that.  You are creating a pocket for it to go into.

4)  Now, make an up & down slit to put your elastic in.

5)  Before you insert your elastic, pin a safety pin on the end of each side of the elastic band, so you can thread it through easily.

6)  Sew the two ends of the elastic together & then sew the opening closed.

7)  Now measure put the dress on your child.  Tie a generous tie in your ribbon & make sure there is enough to have that tie plus be sewn into your gown before you cut anything!  Whatever the length, cut 2.

8)  Sew ribbon right into the inside of the dress where the elastic is.  Mine are at an angle like mean eye brows:

You could just do them traditional style thought, if you like that better.  Just measure in the same amount on both sides, so they're even.

9)  Lastly,  I hemmed the bottom of the dress & sewed trim right over my hemline to hide my less than perfect line.  Ha!  I love to hide my flaws!  Can you relate?  Betcha can.

10)  I sewed a few buttons on the top, but you could add a bow there.  If I'm guessing right (by the picture above), I think they actually threaded the ribbon through the front of the dress & tied it to get that look, but I didn't have enough ribbon to achieve that, so I went another way.

 If you have any questions, just email me & I'll try to help you if I can.

Happy sewing!