these moments matter: pillow case dress

i was thinking about what i wanted to do for my next project...i decided to make a pillow case dress. on top of that....i decided to create a tutorial so i can show everyone how i made it. :)

i found a tutorial on pinterest (where else would i find one, right) and decided to follow it. i did a couple of things different, including the size. she made a 2T while i was trying to make a bigger one...size 6. i love a lot of melissa's ideas on her blog. click here to see her tutorial.

first thing you do is get your fabric. i found three fabrics at the store today all 30% off!!! (side note: did you know you could use a michael's coupon at jo-ann's? i didn't until today! they accept competitors coupons. :)

i chose to start with the brown fabric first.

i then cut of the little white piece on the edge of the fabric...i am sure this has a technical name, but i don't know what it is. :)

then you put the edges together and iron all of the wrinkles out of the fabric.

then cut along the fold.

the next step doesn't have many pictures with it...so don't get lost, just follow the directions. :)

fold each of the two sides of the dress over about 1/2 an inch and iron down.

then sew them down.

now it is time to do the top casting part for the ribbon to go through. i made mine 1 1/2 inches long because i had 7/8 inch ribbon. all you have to do is make sure you make it wide enough to fit the ribbon you are using. :)

fold down the top of the dress 1 1/2 inch and iron down. then repeat and fold it again.

do the same thing to the other piece.

then sew at the bottom of the fabric.

now it is time to sew the two pieces together. :) :)

you need to determine how long the arm holes need to be. with the size 6 that i made, i measured down 8 inches and pinned it in place.

now you need to sew the two pieces together right inside the other stitch. i pinned the bottom of the dress as well to help me keep it together and straight.

oh...here is my new sewing machine! my old one broke :( but i LOVE this one! it is even martha stewart recommended...ha ha. ;)

then you need to open up where you just sewed and iron down both sides. this helps the dress lay and hang right.

now i only sewed one side together at first and then did the bottom hem. i went back after i hemmed the bottom and sewed the other side of the dress together.

to hem the bottom, fold it up one inch and iron.

then fold again and iron.

then sew at the top of the fabric all the way across.

(this is the time i went back and sewed up the other side of the dress. it is easier to do the hem with only one side sewed) :)

we are almost done...

time to cut the ribbon. i cut each piece of ribbon double the width of the dress.

you need to have two pieces the same size.

now it is time to feed it through the top.

i, cari, did not have a safety pin in this whole house nor in any of the craft stuff that i have. so i had to come up with the next best thing to feed the ribbon through....a clothes pin! :)