PIllowcase Dresses

I've succumbed. Hook, line, and sinker! If you recall in my post about making skirts from t-shirts, I originally bought my sewing machine for crafting and said I'd never use it to make clothing! But after making the skirts, I realized that sewing clothing is kinda fun, and not that hard (well, at least that project wasn't!). SOOOOOOO, after seeing several posts on the internet about making dresses out of pillowcases for little girls, I thought the concept was interesting, so I made one.

And because it turned out so darling, I made two more. :) Now I've really become my mother. Not only am I sewing clothing, but I'm sewing MATCHING clothing!!!! lol

There are so many tutorials out there on pillowcase dresses, so I don't feel the need to make one. But check out these links if you're interested:

• Prudent Baby
• 402 Center Street
• LBG Studio

The one I made is a conglomeration of all three of these tutorials, but I probably followed the Prudent Baby one the most. Basically you take a pillowcase (or I just did a rectangle of fabric, and traced an A-line dress belonging to each of the girls' to make my pattern), cut open the folded edge, make arm holes, finish the arm hole edge by turning it over twice and sewing (or using bias tape - which I did), make a casing for the ribbon or contrasting fabric strip to go through on the front and back, and then thread the ribbon through and tie bows on the shoulders. So easy! Many people go to thrift stores to find actually pillowcases, but I found this cheap fabric at Walmart to use instead. I made all 3 dresses for less than $20!

The girls thought they were lovely and couldn't wait to try them on. But 2 minutes after putting them on (I kid you not!) their smiles disappeared and they started squirming. I asked, "What is wrong?" And Brooklyn said, "They're itchy!" 

I could've screamed! Then I remembered how I felt itchy in some of the clothes my mom made me, (especially the dress made out of wool...), and then I thought, "Guess this is payback time!" I think what made them "itchy" was the gray polka-dot material, because it is fairly course. Next time I'll make sure the cotton is softer! But for now, they are happy wearing them with t-shirts underneath! Problem solved. :)

And my sister Dorothy happily took pictures to document the occasion:

Baby feet, just because :)

Now I want to make more using different variations! But, really, how many dresses does a girl need?!!

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