Create a Pattern

1. Create a Pattern.

I know this may sound difficult but it's really an easy pattern, with two
pieces. I have provided sketches here of the pattern I created for myself. These
measurements work for a 2T-3T (my daughter is a skinny 3 year old who fits both
2T and 3T). My notes on the pattern explain how to adjust for a larger child.
You can also adjust it to fit your own child by using one of their current
shirts or dresses as a measurement guideline. Or if you already have a pattern
you love, use that!
Draw this image (using a clothing item of your child's as the guideline) onto a
junk piece of fabric or a large piece of paper. You can buy fabric pens for
marking your pattern but I always just use a Sharpie marker to draw directly on
my fabric.
Next, cut out your two pattern pieces and make sure they're what you want. You
can even hold the pieces up to your child to see if it will fit around her
ribcage, waist, shoulders, etc. Make sure you allow for about 1/2 inch seam
allowance on each side. If the pattern pieces don't work, draw it out again on
another piece of junk fabric or paper, making adjustments.
FOR ADDITIONAL PATTERN DETAILS, SEE MY
NOTES
Here are the two pattern pieces:2.
Start with a Men's Dress shirt (or if you're going to make an infant size
dress, use a boy's dress shirt). The larger the shirt, the better because you
will have more fabric to work with.
FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS ON
PICKING THE RIGHT SHIRT,
SEE MY NOTES


First,
carefully remove the front pocket (if there is one) with a seam-ripper. Then cut
off the sleeves and collar:


Cut
the sleeves in half. In this tutorial, we will use the top portion of the
sleeve. But if you'd like to create to a sleeve like

you will use the bottom portion (not discussed in this tutorial).


3.
Cut out your Dress.
Lay your pattern pieces down on your dress shirt (which you created on a junk
piece of fabric or paper). You will cut the front and back of the dress at the
same time; they are the same pattern piece:


With
a sharpie or fabric pen, trace around your pattern and draw directly on to the
dress shirt:


Cut
out the Dress front and back. Leave the length of the dress un-cut until the
very end, when you can try it on for size:


Trace
and cut out your sleeves. Make sure you cut TWO of these:


4.
Start Sewing.

With right sides of the fabric together, pin the diagonal portion of one sleeve
to the diagonal shoulder area of the dress:


and
sew (using a 3/8 or 1/2 inch seam guideline on your machine. Make sure you use
the same seam allowance on the entire project):


It
will look like this when you turn it right-side out:


Repeat
with the other sleeve:


And
then sew both sleeves to the back of the dress in the same manner. When you're
done, it will look similar to a painting smock, like this:


If
you have a serger, finish off all your seams, by serging down each one.

* If you don't have a serger, you can zigzag your seams (to give strength to the
seam and avoid frayed edges when the dress is washed) or you can just leave them
as is:


5.
Create a casing for the neck.
Serge all the way around the entire neck area to finish of the edge and prepare
for the neck casing:


When
you're done, it will look like this:


*
If you don't have a serger, you will need to double-fold iron...meaning....

You will need to fold the fabric over 1/4 inch all the way around the neck area
and iron, and then fold it over again and iron to create a casing for the
elastic (so there are no raw edges):


You
will be stringing elastic through the neck casing with a safety pin. So, before
you iron the fabric over to create the casing, lay the pin on top as a
guideline, to make sure you make the casing big enough for the safety pin to get
through (otherwise this will become a very frustrating project)


Create
the neck casing by ironing over:

(note: Because the neck area curves around, the casing won't lay entirely flat
in some spots when you iron it down. This is normal. Also, if the casing bunches
up a bit when sewing that's okay too. It will be on the inside and won't be seen
by others. And since this area will eventually be gathered with elastic, it
won't matter anyway!)


Pin
the neck all the way around, making sure when you sew it down that you leave an
opening for the elastic to go in and to come out. To help me remember this, I do
double-pins at the beginning and end (as Start and Stop points). If you're going
to add a personlized clothing label, make your opening large enough to
accomodate the label (sewn in later):


Start
at the first double pins and sew all the way around the neck line and end at the
other double pins:


Just
FYI, you will be sewing the top front of the dress closed by doing this (so that
the dress does not open all the way in front with the buttons). The dress front
is more of a facade:


6.
Sew the sleeves and dress sides.
Serge the edges of both sleeves:


*
If you don't have a serger, you will later do the double-fold iron method
mentioned above with the neck line.
With right sides of the dress front and back together, pin the dress together on
both sides, from the end of each sleeve all the way down the sides of the dress:


If
you are going to add a small label to the side of the dress, insert it now about
2/3 of the way down the side of the dress:


and
pin it in:


Start
at the end of the sleeve and sew all the way down, curving and turning at the
armpit area and continuing down the side of the dress:


Serge
and finish off your seams and iron out your side seams. (It took me years to
realize that you clothes will look FAR more professional if you iron all your
seams and hems well)


7.
Create the sleeve casing.
Iron each sleeve cuff over (using your safety pin as a measurement guideline).
* If you did not serge your sleeve edges (in Step #6 above), first iron over the
sleeve 1/4 inch and then iron it over again the size of your safety pin:


Pin
down the sleeve casing, leaving an opening for the elastic to be strung through,
and mark the Start and Stop points with double pins:


Start
with the first double pins and sew all the way around to the second set of
double pins:


8.
Create a waistband (optional but adds fun spice to the dress).

Decide where you want the waistband to be (best if it's between buttons) and
measure the width of the dress, adding two
inches to each side of that measurement (if the dress is 15 inches across, you
will cut your waistband 19 inches across, to allow for the A-line cut of the
dress)


There
are various ways to create the band but this is the method I used this time
around. Your waist band will be about 2 inches wide and your fabric will be
folded/doubled over.
So, you're going to create two rectangles that measure 5 inches by 19 inches (or
whatever the width of your dress was, plus 2 inches on each side). These
measurements include room for a 1/2 inch seam:





Taking
one of the rectangles, pin both sides together, lengthwise:


and
sew the rectangle closed, creating a long tube. Repeat this step with the other
rectangle too:


To
turn each tube/band right-side out, attach a safety pin to one end:


Stuff
the pin down into the fabric tube:


and
continue to push it through:


Till
it comes out the other end:


Do
this to both waist band pieces and iron them flat:


Lay
them on top of each other and on top of the dress, in the position you want them
in:


Using
a pen, draw a diagonal line down each side of the waist band as a guideline, so
the band will fit exactly on top of the dress:


Using
the drawn guidelines, sew the two waist band pieces together (sewing right on
top of that line) and cut off the excess seam (no serging is needed here):


Turn
the entire band right-side out and pull it over the dress and into position on
the dress (with one part the band on the dress front and one part on the dress
back):


This
is not the easiest step, but slip your hand under the dress and carefully pin
the band down, all the way around the dress, marking Start and Stop points for
the the elastic to be strung through:


Your
dress should look something like this:


First
sew one side of the band down (again, leaving a small opening for elastic to go
through):


Then
sew the other side of the band:


And
now you're going to create three small casings in the waistband. I usually
eyeball the width of these casings and sew a line 1/3 of the way in from each
edge. If you don't feel comfortable with this, use a fabric marker (one that
will WASH out later) and mark a few guidelines all the way around to help you
sew the lines.

*NOTE: if you'd like to leave the waist un-gathered like,
you can simply sew the waist band down on both edges and skip down to the next
step.


make
sure you leave openings in each of these casing:


Your
waist band should look something like this:


9.
String the Elastic
Using 1/4 inch wide elastic, you will need to cut 5 pieces of elastic to finish
off the entire dress. Lengths will vary, depending on the measurements of your
child. So, use a current shirt of theirs or measure around their arms and waist,
so you don't make anything too tight.
The measurements I used are this:
Arms: 9 inches (2 pieces)
Waist: 20 inches (2 pieces)
Neck: 19 inches


Attach
a safety pin the end of your elastic. I double-pin, to avoid the skinny elastic
ripping free half-way through the project:


We
will start with the waistband, pulling elastic through the two outer casings
(there will not be elastic in the middle casing). Push the pin through the
opening:


And
pin the other end of the elastic to the end of the opening:


Push
the safety pin and elastic all the way around the dress, till it comes out the
other end. It can be hard to push through the seams and button front but wiggle
and push the pin till it continues through:


Pin
the beginning and end of the elastic pieces together to hold them till you're
ready to sew the elastic together:



When you're done with the first casing, it should look like this:


Repeat
this step with the other waist band casing:


Shift
the gathered fabric around so it's evenly distributed and at your desired width.
Pull both elastic pieces together:


And
sew them together using a zig-zag stitch for strength:


Then
finish off your casings by stretching the fabric straight and sewing all the
waist band casings closed:


When
you're done, it should look like this:


In
the same manner, string the elastic through the sleeve and the neck casings. Sew
the elastic closed with a zigzag stitch:


If
you're going to add a personalized label, pin it in to the neck opening and sew
the casing closed with the label inside:


Pull
the fabric straight and sew another line across the top of the label (sewing
over the elastic inside) to keep the elastic and fabric from gathering in this
part and warping the label:


When
you're done, it should look like this:


10.
Create the Hem.

Try the dress on your little one and find a desired dress length. I prefer
chunky 1 or 2 inch hems, so allow accordingly for the fabric to be folded over
and ironed before cutting the length.

Starting at one end of the button front, serge all the way around the bottom of
the dress (do NOT serge the dress closed. Leaving the bottom portion open makes
it easier for playtime).

* If you do not have a serger, double-iron the hem by ironing over 1/4 inch
first and then ironing over the desired hem length:


Pin
down your hem and sew all the way around:


Sew
off the small side opening near the button front:


I
also prefer a double-stitch hem (looks more professional). This can be done with
a double needle but I'm lazy and don't want to change needles. So I use my
machine foot as a guideline, putting the first line right next to the number 1
below. I then sew a second hemline all the way around:


So
it looks something like this:


Iron
your hem down one more time (it will look more professional):


AND.....You're
done! Congratulations!



Enjoy the summer breeze in your playful creation:




* I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I value and appreciate constructive
feedback. So please let me know if any part of this is confusing, misleading,
etc. and I will do my best to expound and make improvements.