Saturday, October 27, 2012

ruffle hem dresses

So a few months back, I went to Joann's and picked out of a bunch of pretty fabric with no inclination as to what I would use it for. I do this sometimes...it's not a money waster, really, because I ALWAYS find something to make...

This particular fabric was all pretty girly, so I knew it would be something for Charlotte. I decided to make dresses. Any kind of making of clothes is really difficult for me. I'll admit that I have no clue how to read patterns and I hardly ever measure fabric. I don't know any fancy stitches or tricks. BUT I do know how to make a tube, cinch it up with a basting stitch, and attach it to a onesie. I can do that :]

Initially I was gonna make them all the same, but soon discovered how many fun & different ruffly styles there are! So they are all a bit different from the one another. I was up till 11:30 sewing them all last night. I'd be lying if I said that sewing wasn't addictive and therapeutic. *Not all the time, but once you get into the groove it is hard to stop!

So, what do you think?



Way back when I got the fabric, the first thing I did was make a bunch of hair things for C. And now they match the dresses! yay :]






Now, if I could just find a little grey cardigan to go with some of these dresses, I would be set. Oh how I love having a girl...

Because I have quite a few friends with little girls, here's how to make these:
Buy a pack on onesies, or use ones you already have. If you want to make these for an older girl, just use a t-shirt instead.
Buy 1/2 yd. of fabric(s). Pre-wash, iron. You will need more fabric if this if for a child over the age of 1.
Cut to chosen dimensions. For my 8 mo. old daughter, I bought 6-12 mo. size onesies and cut fabric 15 1/2 in x 36 1/2 in. 
Hem long sides first. One long side normal hem, the other a basting stitch for ruffle.
Ruffle up fabric so that it is just long enough to wrap around outside of onesie.
Sew short sides together inside out.
Turn right side out.
Pin and sew to onesie, sewing OVER the initial basting stitch to reinforce it.
and that's it!

I love this dress because you get to sew the fabric to the outside, instead of inside out which is a HUGE pain since you can't really see how it's lining up.

I promise you it's easy & simple. If you don't sew, this is easy enough to do for a first project with the help of a friend :]


Can't wait for all the Sunday's to come when I can dress up my sweet babe in all these ruffly outfits!

Have a good weekend, everyone!

3 comments:

The Three B's {Ben, Britt, and Brynlee} said...

You should seriously sell these on etsy! They are adorable

A.S.K. said...

Those dresses are THE cutest! Man, I need to learn how to sew so that I can make super cute things like that for baby showers and such. You make the cutest things for your kiddos. They are lucky to have a Mom like you!

Susan Joy said...

That's super cute and ridiculously easy! Chelsea hardly has any dresses for the size she is now, but a couple of plain white onesies so I think I'll give this a try! Thanks!