Monday, October 17, 2011

DIY Sunday: Candy Corn Dress


Hello There!

I have been on a craft spree over the past few days. I think I made a couple of projects to last the next couple of weeks of DIY Sundays. :)

This one got moved to the top of the list because it's Halloween themed!

I don't make clothes as a general rule. I never seem to get them right, so I don't bother. However, when I saw the candy corn pillowcase dress, I thought I would give it try. There aren't any instructions on how to make it, so I thought I would "wing" it. I grabbed a pillow case I had sitting around and used the measurements from it to get what I needed and set to work. I'm pretty excited about how to turned out!

Supplies:

Orange Fabric (I got a half yard of each color, but I have a ton left over. You could definitely get by with a 1/4 of yard. Although since I had a 1/2 yard and that's about how wide a pillow case is, I used the finished edge as my hem. Less sewing then!)
Yellow Fabric
White Fabric
Some Fabric or Ribbon for the Tie (I used ribbon because I couldn't find a fun pattern fabric in Orange I liked)
Sewing Machine

Approximate Cost: $6.00




Directions:

Step One: Cut Your Fabric

FYI: I made my dress to fit a 18 month old. You will need to make two cuts for each color.

The yellow fabric will need to be cut in these dimensions: 19 inches long and 4 inches wide.
The orange fabric will need to be cut in these dimensions: 19 inches long and 6 inches wide.
The white fabric will need to be cut in these dimensions: 19 inches long and 9 inches wide.

Hint: If you do have a half yard of the yellow, fold it over in such a way that you have two finished edges as the bottom. This will prevent you from having to hem the bottom of the dress. If you don't have a half a yard, or are using some fabric you have laying around, you will want to consider extra length to hem the bottom.

Step Two: Sew Each Side

You will want to first hem the bottom yellow if you don't have a finished edge. Then, holding the yellow to the orange sew along the 19 inch long side. Repeat with the White to orange side. Be careful the seams are both on the same side, so you have an obvious outside and inside of the piece.

Repeat this process with the other three cuts of fabric. You should now have a "front" and a "back" with an unfinished white top edge.
Step Three: Clean Up Your Cuts


Lay your front and back on top of each other with the outside "nice" sides touching. Using a rotary cutter and straight edge, clean up the sides by taking off a half inch on each side. This will insure you have a nice clean edge to sew.













Step Four: Create Arm Holes

This is kinda of a "wing it" step. You will want to fold the dress length wise (or "hot dog" way for you teachers out there). You then will want to use scissors to create arm holes. This is a very ugly illustration via paint I made.

Keep in mind you're going to use some of that edge to hem, so you don't want to cut too much off.




Step Five: Sew Sides

Note: The dress should be "inside out" still. You may want to pin the dress together, and probably pin a bit of the arm hole hem so your stitch is smooth when you get to them. Do not sew armholes shut. Stop before you get to them!

Sew up each side.

Step Six: Pin Top

Now, you will want to take that unfinished edge on the top and fold it over. If you'd like, you may want to pin it or iron it flat. I folded mine over an inch or so. This is where the ribbon or fabric will slip through. Sew along rough edge leaving yourself enough room to slip the ribbon through when we get to that step.

Step Seven: Hem Arm Holes

Fold over arm hole hems and sew in order to create a nice neat edge. Make sure you don't sew close the top sleeve for the ribbon to go through. Also, don't sew the arm holes shut. Just hem the hole.

Step Eight: Thread Ribbon Through Top

Thread your ribbon through the folded over edge. If you have a wider ribbon, attach a safety pin to the ribbon to make it easier to thread through. You can also make a drawstring with fabric if you'd rather.

And Ta Da! You have a pretty finished dress!






My cute daughter rocking her dress with a white onesie and brown tights. It was a bit chilly here to not wear something under it, but if you're lucky enough to live somewhere warm, you can get away with nothing underneath.






















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3 comments

Anonymous said...

This is a really great idea and your little one looks soo cute!! Thanks for linking up to Totally Tutorials Tuesday!!

Anonymous said...

This is so incredibly cute...and what a great tutorial. Thank you so much for linking up to Totally Tutorials Tuesday. I can't wait to see what you have for us next week :)

Anne Maskell said...

The colours are perfect! They are so nice and bright and cheerful, perfect for a little one. Thanks for the tutorial. I see one of thesein my granddaughter's future!

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