Sunday, September 4, 2011

I Thought I Could...

I found this picture on Pinterest the other day, but sadly there was no tutorial with the link.  I studied the picture for a while and then got to work.
I started by measuring Savanah around the bust and from her bust to her knee.  I added two inches to the bust measurement and cut two pieces.  I cut mine at a slight A line so that it would flare a little at the bottom.   

Using my template I cut out my sleeves on each side.  A trick to this is to line up all the edges so you only have to cut once.
Using my black fabric, I cut two pieces that were the same width as my dress and about 5 inches long.  Fold in half length wise and iron flat.  Sew/serge your black border to the bottom of each main piece of fabric.  Make sure to place right sides together.  Iron your seams down.  
With right sides together sew/serge your two dress pieces together.  I really try to make sure that the bottom borders line up.
This is what it should look like once you flip it right side out and iron your seams.
Side note: For future reference I would make the bottom border a tad wider.  It seems a little too narrow in this picture.
To finish off the edges of the sleeves, serge the edges and then fold under and sew around.  If you do not own a serger, you will need to do a double fold to hide your raw edges.
Now the somewhat tricky part...
Cut another piece of your coordinating fabric.  In my case, the black fabric.  My piece was double the width of my dress and about 4 inches long.  Sew you piece of fabric, short ends together, into a tube.  Serge one side and fold under about an inch around.  Iron flat. 
For the other raw edge, fold under twice and top stitch. This will look a lot better then leaving a serged edge like I did in the picture.
Using your seam as a guide, find the middle of the back of the dress.  Pin the seam in your black fabric to the middle of the dress.  To do this, you need to wrap the folded over inch over to the back side of the dress.  Make any sense?  If not use the picture for a reference.  The right side of the ruffle should be facing you. 

Next, fold your ruffle piece in half so that you can find the half way point on the other end.  Mark your spot and attach it to the half way point on the front side of the dress.  Pin around.  Again, use the picture!
You need to make a casing for your elastic.  Do this by sewing around the top of your ruffle about a half an inch away from the edge.  Make sure to leave about an inch open to pull your elastic through.
Cut your elastic to the width of your child's bust.  Pull it through your casing and zig-zag stitch the two ends together.  Once your elastic is in you can sew your small opening closed.  And you're done!
My only issue with the dress above is that I made the ruffle a little too wide.  You can see the difference between the ruffle on my dress and the one above.  I will be making another one and will post a picture with the mentioned adjustments.

Enjoy!

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