More stiches of love

Recently I read this post about pillowcase dresses and thought it was a cute idea. So I asked one of our sweet older ladies in church if she would help me and we would try to make a few for Eden. She agreed and we had a blast!

This was an easy project that even a beginner like me could accomplish. The only hard part was the arm holes. Which is why I was so happy to have Ms. Hazel to help :)

 Measure your child's shoulder to the length you would like the dress. Cut off the top (the closed end) of the pillowcase to the desired length. 

 Then take a paper towel (or piece of paper) and cut out a J shape to fit your child's underarm. Use the paper towel to get an idea of the shape and depth you want your dress. I wanted Eden's short enough that she didn't have to wear an undershirt. Cut out each side of the dress.

 Sew in a simple hem, then thread through a 6 inch piece of elastic. Ms. Hazel taught me to attach a safety pin to help pull the elastic through. She's so smart! Sew down each side of the elastic.

 

 Then you sew a piece of ribbon around the bottom seam to cover the seam of the pillowcase. The arms took a little more work because we didn't have any binding tape. So we cut out some leftover material from the top of the pillowcase. Sewing it into the armholes and then stitching the ribbon into it. That way it folded over nicely and looked more smooth.

I made Eden's dress differently than the pattern. I decided that I was just going to sew in the ribbon to go over Eden's shoulder instead of making it tie. Eden doesn't know how to tie her shoes yet and I didn't want to have to do it multiple times each day. So I cut a piece and sewed it in.

 The happy girl in her new dress!

 Doing what girls do best.... twirling!

Eden making her funny face in her second dress.

My sweet little monkey, I hope you enjoy your dresses!