How to Make a Girl's Sack Dress
Sack dresses were originally made from recycled flour or livestock feed bags. These dresses became common enough that some companies began printing patterns on the sacks to encourage sales. While fabric sacks may be difficult to locate today, you can recreate the look of a little girl's sack dress with a standard pillowcase or any fabric bag large enough to fit over the child's body. Try to choose fabrics that are soft to the touch to ensure the little girl is comfortable while wearing her sack dress.
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Things You'll Need
- Fabric sack
- Tape measure
- Fabric pencil
- Scissors
- Iron
- Sewing machine
- Ribbon
Instructions
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1
Lay the fabric sack or pillowcase flat on your work surface with the open end of the sack facing you. The open end of the sack will form the bottom hem of the sack dress.
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2
Measure the distance from the little girl's shoulder to the point on her leg where you want the hem of the dress to fall. Apply this measurement to the sack starting at the open end. For example, if the measurement was 20 inches, mark the sack with a fabric pencil 20 inches above the open end.
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3
Draw a horizontal line across the sack where you marked it with a fabric pencil. Cut along this line. You now have a sack with two open ends.
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4
Fold the sack dress in half vertically. Make a mark along the top of the sack two inches from the unfolded side of the fabric. Make a second mark along the unfolded side of the fabric four inches below the top edge. Draw a curved line to connect these two marks. Cut along the curved line to form armholes for your sack dress.
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5
Unfold the sack. Fold the top edges of the sack in 1.25 inches and iron the sack to set creases along these folds. Do not attempt to fold the curved edges of the armholes, only fold the top, horizontal edges of the sack.
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6
Sew along the folds you just created using a one-inch seam allowance. This large seam allowance will create narrow fabric sleeves at the top of the dress.
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7
Thread an 18-inch length of ribbon through the front sleeve of the dress. Thread a second 18-inch ribbon through the back sleeve. Tie knots in each ribbon where they exit the sleeves. This will prevent the ribbons from slipping out of the dress.
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8
Slip the dress over the little girl's head. Tie the front ribbon to the back ribbon at each shoulder to secure the dress.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Polka Dot/Getty Images
