How to Make a Sundress From a Pillow Case
A pillowcase dress is an easy project that has created many a cute sundress for little girls. The drawstring at the top makes it adjustable, and it can be adorned with any number of cute embellishments or designs. The ease of making them doesn't mean the dress lacks for cuteness or comfort, and any little girl will look adorable in one of these quick-to-make sundress creations.
Things You'll Need
- Pillow case
- Measuring tape
- Scissors
- Iron
- Sewing machine or needle and thread
- 12 inches of 1/2 inch wide elastic
- Safety pins
- Seam binding
- Ribbon
Instructions
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1
Measure the girl the dress is for from shoulder, to the length desired for the dress. Mark this length on the pillow case and make a straight line across, then cut. Cut away the closed end of the pillow case, not the finished and open end where the pillow is normally inserted.
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2
Lay the pillow case flat. Working downward from the open end you just cut, make two holes. One is shaped roughly like a J on the left side, and a backwards J on the right side. The cut should start about 3 inches in from the side edges, and be about 3 to 4 inches long depending on the size of the child. Cut through both the top and bottom at the same time, basically making arm holes at the top right and left corners of the dress.
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3
Fold down the top edges 1/4 inch and press flat. Fold over again and press once more, then stitch along the folded edge. This makes a sort of a tube called a casing. The elastic will go inside this area.
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4
Cut the elastic into two 6 inch pieces. Attach a safety pin to one end of each and thread through the casing you just made. Draw in the neckline as you go to fit the elastic. Pin at both ends when threaded and the casing is drawn in so that the fabric stays bunched and even with the elastic. Stitch across each end to hold it in place. Do this on both front and back.
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5
Measure 28 inches of binding and cut two pieces this same length. Seam binding is a folded piece of stiff material that has a crease in the middle, and two strips of material on either side of the crease. One side is narrower than the other. Pin to the sleeve holes with the narrow side facing up, by sliding the binding over the edge of the fabric until the fabric edge is inside the crease on the seam binding. Put the arm holes in the center of your 28 inch piece of tape leaving about 10 inches hanging over on each end, which will create your ties that will go over the shoulders. Sew along the binding edge to seam. An alternate method is to make a casing as you did for the front and back and thread a piece of ribbon through each to make the ties. Place a couple of stitches at the ends of each armhole to keep the ribbon in place with this method.
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6
Embellish with iron on decals or rick rack or any other adds you desire, or leave plain.
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References
- Photo Credit petite fille à la campagne image by christophe denis from Fotolia.com
