I am really excited to feature my
exciting & lovely guest blogger
here at The ArtsyGirl Connection today.
Please enjoy her lovely tutorial on a beautiful
spring dress she made for her lovely daughter..
She has a lot of fun and artsy posts on her blog that
you really have to find a second to check out. I love her
creativity and spontaneuos fun blog...Enjoy her here today!!
Bonjour! Thank you so much for having me
over on this wonderful blog of creativity.
where I talk a little about Marriage, family, homeschooling and a ton
about crafting! My crafting all started when buying winter hats, scarfs
etc for my young family of 6 became a budget strain. A sweet
sweet friend of mine taught me how to crochet hats for my
babies and its been a fun crafty journey ever since.
I have been a mom and wife since the age of 23
you can read more about our little journey
here. Today I want
to show you guys how to make an easy easy summer dress for
yourself or a little girl in your life. Once you get the hang
of it you might be able to pump them out in an hour or so!
Lets get started on the Dress
To make this dress you will need:
1. Sewing Machine and sewing supplies
2. Elastic thread ( you will wrap around bobbin by hand)
3. One Yard Fabric for child 2 or more yards for an adult
1.Measure the chest of the person you are making for and
double that number. She was a 24 so my chest number is
48. ( This is because when you start to shirr the dress
it will shrink); Chest x 2 = Width of fabric
Measure the length you want the dress to be and
add 2 inches.The length I wanted for her was 12 so the
total is 14. ( This gives your room to Hem the top and
the bottom of the dress) Length you want + 2 = Length of fabric
2. Then you will cut your fabric. To those measurements.
Remember measure twice cut once.You will end up with
a big piece of fabric.You can do one of two things at this point.
Keep it big- Less steps but dress shape might be a tiny
bit odd wont be noticeable on a child's dress, and
the dress will only have one seam.
Cut it half -creating a front and back piece, it is
an extra step but the dress will fall a little better and
the dress will have two side seams.
It is a preference thing. Your dress can be amazing either way.
If you decide to keep it big set it aside and let's prepare the
rest of our supplies. If you cut it half all you have to do is sew it
back together again along the side. Seems weird but when you
are done with the dress you will sew the other side,
creating two side seams. (make sense?)
I decided to cut in mine in half. Front and back of dress.
NEXT
Take the bobbin and gently wrap the elastic thread around it.
Do not pull to tight. and do not do it with the machine it must be
done by hand. Just wrap slowly, going round and round. You can do it!
Lets get the straps ready.
The straps can be really easy. You can find some grosgrain
ribbon that matches the dress. and just put some fray check or
fabric glue at the ends and you are done with the straps and ready to sew.
I did not have ribbon so I made straps with the remainder of my fabric.
Decide how wide you want your straps to be and double that number.
The length of the straps will depend on the model. I just kind eye balled it.
First you take your strip and fold it in half and press.
Open it. and fold the sides into that center line and press.(middle picture)
Then sew down both sides of the strap. When you get the
the ends of the strap fold it over twice and sew.
Prepare the main part of your dress by hemming the top and
the bottom of the dress. If you have a serger just serge the ends
fold it over about one inch, press and sew. If you do not have a
serger fold over the edge 1/4 inch and press, fold
over 1/2 inch and press, pin and sew.
Now we are ready to sew your dress. Put your bobbin with the elastic
thread into the machine. and start sewing straight lines across the
width of the fabric. For children's dress this is how I figure out
how many lines to sew. AGE + 2 . My four year old I did 6
lines. For adults sew about 20 -30 lines or till it will cover the
entire bust area. Use the edge of your fabric as a line guide for the
first line you sew. For the next line use the previous line as your
guide. Line up the line with the edge of your sewing foot.
You will notice the fabric start the gather. Yippie!
If you run out of elastic thread in the middle of a line. Just put
a new bobbin in with elastic thread and start about 2cm
before the place where the elastic ended, backtack and then keep
sewing. Backtack means sew forward a few stitches then
back a few stitches and forward to continue.
When you are done with all the rows it will look
like this but the fabric will still be big.
Stay with me for the BIG shrink!
Fold the fabric in half with the party side to party side,
(right sides) face to face. So it is wrong side out facing you like this
Pin,sew down the side then press.
Zig or serge to finish the edges.
Turn the dress right side out and you are almost done!
To shrink the top you can do one to two things... put it
in the wash and dry it. or Spray it with some water till
Damp (you will notice it shrinking) then press it with your iron.
Once you have done that decide where you want your straps
to be sewn, pin them, sew them on, the best way to sew
them securely is to sew a sqaure with an X in the middle.
It's neat and secure. Or just sew it on with a zig zag stitch
but make sure you have matching thread so it is not noticeable.
and
you
are
done!
Thank you for having me!
Enjoy making your fun
and easy spring and summer breezy dresses!!
Hope you enjoyed Jacqueline's tutorial as much as i did..
Please visit her for more artsy and creative features at
