This was a Christmas outfit that I made for a beautiful, little girl we know but with the right material can easily be adapted to an everyday dress. It is a simple pattern and only takes about 2 hours to put together. The end result is a beautiful dress, fit for a princess!
What you will need:
- Skirt Fabric (see step 1 to determine how much you will need)
- A cheap singlet
- A pretty button
- 2" wide elastic (cut a length 1/2" wider than your child's waist)
- Coordinating thread
1. The length of fabric required will be
the distance from the child's bellybutton to knees + 6"
x
the width of the child's waist x 2
**You will need 20cm extra fabric for the skirt sash.
2. Fold the fabric in half, width ways, right sides together and sew the short edge together using a 1/2" seam. Zigzag to finish of the edge.
3. Finish the top and bottom edges of the skirt by folding over 1/4", pressing and then folding by 3", pressing and sewing in place. Leave a 2" gap in the top edge of the skirt to insert elastic.
4. Place the elastic along the bottom seam of the top edge of the skirt. With a pencil, mark the top edge of the elastic. Stitch across the marks you made.
5. Using a safety pin, insert the elastic into the top seam. Once through, ensure the elastic is not twisted and sew together both ends using a zigzag stitch. Stitch the remainder of the seam to close the gap.
6. Using a zigzag stitch (release the tension a little bit), stitch two rows across the elastic to create faux smocking. There's no need to pull the elastic tight, simply sew across the fabric and elastic and the thread will stretch with the elastic.
**I haven't taken any close up photos of this. If needed, please comment below and I can post some pictures of a different project with faux smocking.
7. Create the sash holes, by cutting two 2 x 6" rectangles. Fold in half lengthways, right sides together and stitch around the edge, leaving a small gap. Trim the corners, turn in the right way and top stitch around the edge to close the seam.
8. Attach sash holes to the skirt by folding the top edge over by 1/4", position 1/4" below the top seam and sew across the top of the sash hole. Fold the bottom edge up by a 1/4" and sew across. Place the other sash hole directly opposite and repeat.
**Tip - determine which side of the skirt you would like to be the front and back, then position the sash holes to the edge.
9. Make the sash by cutting a 6" wide strip the length of your fabric, Fold in half lengthways, right sides together and taper the ends. Stitch together and leave a small gap. Trim the corners, turn in the right way and top stitch around the edge to close the seam.
10. Cut the singlet at the level of the child's belly button + 1". Attach singlet to inside of skirt at the level of the top seam. Ensure the expose edge of the singlet is either folded under when you sew or complete with a zigzag stitch.
11. Create a matching headband with the remaining fabric. Simply cut the singlet to the width of the child's head less 1". Join the ends using a 1/2" seam. Fold the edges under by 1/4" and fold again into the centre of the headband. Complete with a zigzag stitch. Attach a handmade flower (tutorial to come in future post).
The smocking might be a little itchy against your little miss's belly, if so attach a thin layer of felt to cover it!
Enjoy!! Share some pictures of your beautiful princesses if you can!
Phoebe
xo
No comments:
Post a Comment