A Simple Little Girls Dress

I made this sweet little dress for my two year old in the run up to our holiday this year. I love making her dresses and this one was just so simple! It’s the same principle as a ‘pillow case dress’ which you may have seen before but I found some really pretty poly-cottons in my nearest fabric shop so didn't want to follow any of those tutorials.

I've tried to write in cm & inches as much as possible, it can get a bit confusing when everything in the UK is sold in cm's to figure out how much material you need to buy, but then when it comes to sewing seams I work in inches. I hope I've managed to keep it simple still!

You Will Need

*        Fabric, 107cm or 42" wide - look to size chart for length
*        Bias binding, 2 metres
*        Elastic 6mm or ¼”

*        Armhole template, see below

*        Don't forget your basic sewing supplies

To figure out how much fabric you need measure from the nape of the child’s neck to wherever you’d like the dress to finish then add 7.5cm or 3 inches for seam allowances. Otherwise follow this chart I made with the help of the size guide on Nancy’s Notions Blog.

Make sure your material is a minimum of 107.5cm or 42” wide, most fabrics are!

Method

Once the fabric is cut to size, fold the material in half and sew to make a tube. Press the seam open to create the centre back of the dress.

Print out the armhole template provided so the top measures 5cm, cut out the size you require and place template at the top of the side folds. Cut out armhole shape leaving no seam allowance.

Now to make the casings for the elastic at the top front and back of the dress. Fold over ¼” and then ½” to create a tube to thread elastic through.  

Cut your required length of elastic in half so you have two equal lengths for the front and back, thread through your casings and stitch at the edges to stop them from coming out.

Cut your bias binding in half then iron it in half lengthways to make it easier to position and sew. Leaving equal lengths at each side pin the bias around your armholes to encase the raw edges. Remember to turn over the ends of your bias so it looks neat if you forget a little knot in the end is quite a cute way of disguising a mistake! Edge stitch the whole length of bias binding to create the straps, these will be tied in bows on the shoulders.

All that’s left to do is hem the bottom of the dress, turn and press ¼” then turn and press a 2” hem and edge stitch on the machine. You can reduce the hem if you like but remember to reduce the seam allowance first. I used a complimentary, contrasting thread…if there is such a thing! But you could hand stitch an invisible hem if this dress is for an occasion or use your sewing machine like I did as this dress if for playing in!

Sorry I don’t have step by step pictures but it is so simple all being well you won’t need them! 

I hope you enjoy having a go and maybe you get to try adding some trimmings, appliqué or pockets!