I'm BACK!!!!

Ok Sorry for the break!


Today I made my daughter a dress.  There's no pattern because it's THAT easy.  Went to Walmart and bought 1 yard ($5 for the most expensive) and a 5T T-shirt ($3.88).  I also got 1 inch elastic (around $1.40).
MH put the shirt on and I saw where it needed cut at.  I think I left the shirt too long, but it turned out cute.  As for the fabric.  I just got regular fabric, jersey (a stretchy type fabric) would've been better, BUT any light weight fabric will work.  Make sure the fabric is WASHED before you sew it.  1 yard fit perfectly around.  After you wash the fabric fold it just like how it came.  Fabric is always folded in half when you pick it out and get it cut so just do that again.  MH wanted it long dress. I put the 2 long raw edges together and sewed.  I did a triple stitch for strength (Why yes blogger reads, I DID get a new sewing machine for Mother's Day!).  I ALWAYS get confused when I need to put the right sides together to bring the top and bottom together. SO you don't have an inside out top and a right side out bottoms.  This section TAKE YOUR TIME! Even when I THINK I'm paying attention I mess it up.  I took the raw  edge and the cut side of the shirt and triple stitched it together.  The reason why you fold at the beginning is because that is the bottom.  Then when the girl does a summer salt in the DRESS then it's the same pattern inside and out AND you don't need to hem the bottom.  If you're like me and have the jersey top sewn to the regular cotton fabric eventually the shirt and fabric will pull and the weaker fabric with rip OR become really stretched.  I took a 1 inch wide strip of elastic the length of her waste and sewed it around where the 2 fabrics meet.  When sewing elastic make sure you use the zig zag patter.  EVERY machine has it.  Even my very basic machine has it.  What you do with the elastic is pin the 2 ends on the back, then you need to pull the elastic while sewing.  has hard as you pull and sew is how far the elastic will stretch once you're finished.  Make sure you only put it as long as the fabric because it you do it too hard then when the elastic is relaxed it will be too tight to wear and if you do it too loose it won't stretch. And that is it! We are all getting dresses around the house.  At the end of the day MH decided she wanted a shorter skirt so I will do that tomorrow.  

The skirt cut and the fabric sewn into the skirt

Pinning the fabrics together.  The skirt I had to put a couple pleats in

Sorry it's fuzzy, I wanted you to see how much fabric I leave when I sew

The elastic band after sewn

The dress finished (it won't let me flip the photo) 

What the other side looks like with the zig zag stitch and the elastic on the inside.

I originally saw this a year ago when a family friend made dresses for my daughter, sister and niece (she used a jersey fabric for the skirt).  THEN I saw a similar idea on Pinterest and had to do it!