Many More Maxis and 1 Mini

A few weeks ago my sister asked me if I would create her some dresses similar to the ones I posted about earlier. Here are a couple more dresses I recently made.

1. I created a maxi for my sister using my Maxi Dress Pattern but omitted the pockets. This dress is out of a more sheer knit and requires a slip and cami underneath but I loved the color and feel of this knit. I also created a quick fabric belt that she could wrap around this waist but forgot to take pictures of it :( I just used a strip of scrap fabric and 2 D rings to create a quick and easy belt.

2. A pink version of the Here Comes the Sun Dress. After wearing my yellow dress several times I had to fix the ruffle hem because it was not sewn in strong enough to withstand walking, touching the ground, etc. So, lesson learned, this time I sewed in the ruffle using a double needle and then went back over the stitch with a zig zag single needle stitch. I am hoping this allows stretch for walking ease but holds up to walking and repeated washings...I guess I will wait and hear the report from my sister!

2. A non-ruffle version of the Here Comes the Sun Dress. This dress is for me and I decided to not add a ruffle to the bottom but instead create three fabric flowers using the scraps from the tank top. You can either attach the flowers to the belt or tank of the dress for different looks.

4. This is the "mini" dress. It is really not that short but compared to the maxi dress I guess it would be considered mini. I used the same tutorial that I used for the two dresses above but hemmed the skirt at knee length. I then created two small rows of ruffles using the same material as the skirt. I cut strips of one inch material, the width of my fabric and began sewing them together and ruffling them to get strips long enough to wrap around the dress. It took about two strips for each row of ruffles. It is an easy, casual dress for days you want to just throw something on with sandals.

Whew...feels good to check something off the "to sew" list!

Shannon

Bridesmaid Dress Refashion

My best friend in the whole wide world got married a couple weekends ago in Chicago.  It happened to be a beautiful weekend for a wedding considering it was March.  She let the wedding party pick out their dresses as long as they were black.  Shannon had this adorable dress that she was willing to let me borrow:

I loved it and was ready to fly to Chicago for the wedding.  Problem was, I'm a lot shorter than Shannon.  More than I realized!  This dress ended up hitting me at the ankles instead of being tea length.  So, Shannon said I could cut it up.  I jumped at the opportunity (after a little convincing that it was okay if I did) and made this out of it at 11:00 the night before I needed to catch my flight:

I made the skirt the length I wanted, but knew I wanted to leave a little of the tulle out of the bottom to add a little to the dress.  I loved the final product and had a blast at the wedding!  Here I am with the beautiful bride!

Betsy

Mama's Little Green Dress

Earlier I posted about using the Junebug Dress pattern to create this version for my daughter. I made this using a green polyester fabric picked up at the thrift store. I had so many yards of this fabric that I decided to make a dress for myself. Here is the completed dress and tutorial:

Supplies: 2 yards of fabric, 1 fitted t-shirt, thread to match your skirt material, elastic thread, scissors, sewing machine, ruler

STEPS:
1. Take the fabric and wrap it around your body about 1.5 times to find out how wide you need your fabric. (Yes that is me in this pic...my hair was blonde when I made the dress but not in the modeling shots-oops) Then measure from below your chest to where you want the dress to fall and measure. Add 4.5 inches to this length to allow for seam allowances and a deep hem. Once you have cut out this large rectangle of fabric cut it into two even pieces, width wise, to create a front and back for the skirt.

 2. Next measure and mark the center of the front of the skirt, mark with a pin. Then measure out 2.5 inches from each side of the pin and mark. Create your pleat by folding the outside pin onto the center pin and then folding the fabric back on itself. Repeat with the other side.

 3. Baste the pleat in place, press the pleat down for several inches. Repeat steps 2 and 3 with the back skirt piece of fabric. Sewthe front and back of the skirt together at the sides, right sides together.
4. Next put on your t-shirt and mark where you want the skirt to be attached. Cut the shirt off just below this measurement. Mark the center front and back of the t-shirt with a pin. Use this mark to match right sides of the shirt and skirt together. The pin should line up in the center of the pleat.

5. Next, wind your bobbin with elastic thread. You will want to wind this by hand. Then using the elastic thread for your bobbin and regular thread on the top stitch the shirt and skirt together. Using elastic thread will allow the dress to be pulled on and off easily.

Make sure you pull the t-shirt as you sew to fit it to your skirt.

6. Next turn up your hem and press. I first pressed up 2 inches and then another 2 and 1/4 inches to create a deep hem. 

7. Finally, I made a sash to wrap around the dress with leftover fabric. I cut a strip about 8 inches long and the width of the fabric. Fold the fabric in half right sides together and stitch the one long end. Turn the fabric right side out, tuck in the ends and press, then topstitch all the way around the fabric sash. 

Shannon

Maxi Dress Tutorial

A couple weeks ago I pinned this little number on pinterest: Maxi Dress...Beautiful? Yes Affordable? No

So, I thought I would experiment to see if I could create my own version of this $800 Maxi Dress. Here is what I came up with.

The following is the tutorial. Be aware this is pic heavy! I apologize for the horrible pictures, they were mostly taken in my basement with horrible lighting.

What you will need:

Jersey Knit Fabric (3 yards)

Thread to match your fabric

Scissors

3/4 inch non-roll elastic

Sewing Machine

Twin Needle (optional)

Ruler
Pattern Pieces

1. Take your 3 yards of fabric and wrap it around your body one and half times to determine your skirt width. For me, it was approximately the width of my fabric, so I did not need to make any cuts. Next, measure from just below your chest to the floor and use this as your skirt length measurement. Cut your fabric to create a long rectangle using your skirt width by your skirt length measurements.

2. Since you will be adding pockets, you need to have a front and back piece to your skirt. **If you wanted to omit the pockets, simply sew a seam up the center back of the skirt piece.** If you are adding pockets, simply cut down one long side of your fabric to create two equal rectangles (a front piece and a back piece). Then lay your skirt pieces to the side for now.

3. Take the bodice pattern pieces and cut out one bodice back on the fold and two bodice fronts. **My pattern pieces are for a size 4-6 for the top.** Pin the bodice front to the back, right sides together, at the shoulder. Sew it together at the shoulders.

4. Press the shoulder seams open. Next, take the sleeve edge and create a finished edge by ironing 1/4 inch and then another 1/4 inch towards the wrong side. Edge stitch next to the ironed edge. Do the same thing for the front of the dress bodice, ironing all the way around the neckline. This is where you can opt to use a twin needle. It allows you to create two even lines of stitching on the front while making a small zig zag stitch on the back which allows the fabric to keep some stretch. The bodice is loose enough that you can stitch this with a straight stitch using a regular needle and will still be able to take the dress on and off easily.

Underside of Fabric with Double Needle

Top Side of Fabric with Double Needle

5. Then pin the bodice right sides together under the armholes and stitch. Note that this will be a very small amount.

6. Next take your bodice and turn it right side out. Overlap the front bodice pieces, laying the right piece on top of the left and matching the center line. Pin the pieces together and baste.

7. Go back to your skirt pieces and sew the two skirt pieces right side together for about 5 inches down on each side starting at the top of the skirt. This will allow you to make your elastic casing and attach it to the top prior to determining where your pockets will go.  It is now time to create the casing. Keeping the skirt inside out, take the top of your skirt and iron down a 1 inch hem all the way around the top. Then iron another 1 and 1/4 inch all the way around. Stitch next to the edge of the casing, leaving an opening for the elastic.

**A hint for sewing near the edge. Line your foot up to the edge of the casing as in the above picture. Then move your needle position to the far left position. As you stitch keep your foot in line with the edge of the casing and your stitching line will stay straight and near the edge.**

8. Then take the elastic and wrap it around your rib cage under your chest. Cut off the needed amount. Do not pull the elastic tight while measuring it. Thread your elastic through your casing using a safety pin. Once it is pulled through, overlap the two ends by about an inch and stitch them together. Then finish stitching around the casing edge to finish off where you had left it open to insert the elastic.

9. Attach the bodice to the skirt. First mark the front center of the skirt, back center of the skirt, and back center of the bodice with pins. Use these as guides when pinning the skirt and bodice together, lining up all pins and matching the center of the bodice front (where it overlaps) with the center front pin. Pin the right sides together and stitch. The easiest way to pin the two together is to have the skirt right side out and slide the bodice (inside out) over the skirt upside down. Stitch at the top of the elastic. When you sew the two parts together you need to pull and stretch the elastic quite a bit to get the skirt and bodice to fit together. If you find there is way too much fabric for you to pull, you can gather the top in places first. (You could gather it on the bottom of each bodice piece).

10. Now it is time to add your pockets. Put on your dress and determine where you would like your pockets to fall. Mark this on your dress. Cut out 4 pocket pieces and attach the pockets using this tutorial from Burda: In Seam Pocket Tutorial

11. Finally, pin and hem your dress to the desired length.

"Here Comes the Sun" Dress

A couple of weeks ago I found a pin on pinterest that caught my eye. It was for a maxi dress tutorial and used a tank top and knit fabric to create a cute and comfortable dress. One night in bed I had this picture of a yellow and white dress pop into my head with a ruffle on the bottom...does anyone else dream up their projects as they try to fall asleep? That seems to be my most creative time! And here is how it turned out...

Want to make one? I highly recommend it. It comes together quickly, it is inexpensive, and the one day I have worn it so far I was flooded with compliments...can't beat that!

What you will need:

TUTORIAL

A tank top

Knit Fabric that is wide enough to wrap around your body one and a half times and long enough to create a maxi dress and enough left over for a ruffle and sash.

Elastic Thread (a must for this project)

Scissors

Sewing Machine

For my knit fabric I used a bedsheet that I bought at a thrift store a couple weeks ago. It was $6 for the sheet and was a wonderfully soft jersey knit and happened to be in this lovely mustard color. I first trimmed off the elastic casing and rounded corners. Then using a straight edge and rotary cutter I created a rectangle from the fabric wide enough to wrap around my body one and a half times and plenty long enough. I used an old tank top that was too short to be worn anymore.

I created the main dress using the tutorial referenced above. Her use of elastic thread is brilliant and helps create ease when taking the dress on and off. Once the dress was completed I decided to add the ruffle from my dreams (ha ha). I cut three 2 inch wide strips that were each the width of the dress.

Sew the three strips right sides together on the short ends to create one long strip of fabric. Next sew a long stitch (my longest stitch length is 4) all the way down the center of the strip. There is no need to finish the edges as it is knit and won't fray. Next, pull the thread using the bobbin thread tail and watch your fabric ruffle easily.

I then hung my dress on my dressform and began pinning the ruffle onto the bottom hem of my dress.

 I then stitched the ruffle on to the dress and called it good! On a side note, a real seamstress would probably attach all three pieces of the ruffle together to create a circle prior to attaching it to the dress. But since I only pretend to be a real seamstress I was lazy and skipped this step. Instead, when the two ends met as I stitched the ruffle to the dress, I tucked each end of the ruffle under by about a half inch, overlapped the pieces and sewed. It still hides the seam and gets lost in all the ruffles.

The day this dress was finished was beautiful all around. My hubby watched these two cuties while I went to a BLOG meet up hosted by Ashley from this great blog Make It and Love It

Not sure if my toddler or husband picked this outfit...
but she is rocking it anyway

And my hubby bottled his latest homebrew batch -Apricot Blonde- yum! Can't wait to sip one of those while wearing my new dress and soaking up the sun.

Shannon