Easy DIY Pillowcase Dress

Good afternoon!

I received an email from my Aunt a while ago about an organization who's mission is to create a world where every little girl owns at least one dress! Women from all over the globe partner with this organization called Dress a Girl Around The World (http://www.dressagirlaroundtheworld.com) to send dresses to every part of the world. I have decided to join the cause!

Here is the easy step-by-step process of making cute pillowcase dresses for little girls! 

Start with a pillowcase - of course, mine is zebra print. :]

Fold the pillowcase in half the long way to cut the arm holes

Cut the arm holes out - for the pattern, go here!

 Unfold the pillowcase and cut the top seem off.

Time to pull out the iron! Fold both edges at 1/4inch to get a clean hem pressing with the iron.

Fold one more time at the 1inch mark, iron and pin.

 Pin and run through the machine as close to the edge as possible!
** If you want a ruffle at the top of the dress, as you'll see below, sew a second line measuring 3/4' from the previous sewn line to create a tube for the elastic to be stringed through. You'll want to make the fold a bit deeper as well. I have been doing 1.5' instead of 1' (see previous step).

Cut a piece of elastic and put a safety pin on one side to thread through the neckline. Sew the first end going back and forth on the machine then pull the elastic through with the safely pin to the other side and sew again - you will be creating a ruffle so don't be afraid if you feel like your elastic isn't long enough.

Can you see where the elastic is securely sewn?

Next comes the hard part - binding! Choose your color and make sure there is a double fold - to give you a clean look. You'll want lots of extra on both sides to tie a bow at the top. Find the halfway mark and pin the binding at the center of the arm hole. Carefully pin up the sides of the armhole.

Thread your machine to match the color of you binding and began to sew! I usually do a small zigzag because it is CUTE and can catch any fabric that has shifted.

Add decoration and taduh!!

Special thanks to my lovely models! You can see I took the zebra dress up a few inches from the first picture and used it on the bottom of the blue dress. Then I added the pink piece to the zebra!

Notice the ruffle? My favorite part!

I ended up shorting this dress to just above her little knees! 

I am selling my dresses for $12.00 and with every purchase I'll be shipping a dress to my favorite orphanage in Guatemala called Casa Angelina. 

I hope this will help you create your own wonderful masterpieces in the future!

Let me know if you have any questions or would like to purchase a dress and in turn purchase a dress for a little girl in Guatemala.

God Bless,

Abby

Easy DIY: Low-to-High Skirt

Good afternoon friends!

I've had this guy in my closet for a couple months know while contemplating what to do with him - so many options! One suggestion was to make shorts (I'm not sure I'm ready for that yet), another option would be a one-sholder dress (I think I'll save that for next time) so I decided to make a low-to-high skirt :)

Before!

Did I mention it only cost $0.99!

Start by turning the skirt inside out and fold it in half - I have the front to the right and back to the left. I put the skirt on and placed a pin where I wanted the skirt to fall above my knee.
Next I used white chalk to draw a line from my pin to the bottom of the skirt. Be careful to make sure the front and back are straight with the angle in-between otherwise you'll get a funny 'peak' in the front or back. **This is the MOST IMPORTANT PART**

I pinned the skirt along the chalk line to guarantee there was no movement and crooked lines

Chop chop!

Next for the hem...

I had the skirt inside out, folded the material in 1/6" (roughly) and pinned the outside - it was awkward at first but it made the next step easier.

After I pinned the skirt in 1/6" (roughly) all the way around I started the second fold. This I did at 1/2" using this handy-dandy tool thingy [below], ironed and pinned it down. This will give it a nice finish!

The hem

Sewing time!

Gave it a quick iron and thats it!

After!

Love it!!

before & after

Thank you for stopping by!
Give it a try and let me know how it goes!!

Country-inspired Dress Refashion

Got super excited when I found this flowery dress at Goodwill for $6.99! But what to do?!?! Its wintertime in Minnesota and COLD so I decided sleeves were a MUST.

I started doing step by step instructions for you all but it got a bit messy through the process.

Took the sides in about five inches on both sides

Chopped the bottom off right above the knees so there was would be plenty of fabric to play with for the sleeves.

Measured the sleeves, sewed them together and put elastic at the end.

Sewed the sleeves into the arm holes -

AND taadaaaaaa!

Here is a close up of the sleeve - I love the poof!

Before & After!

Easy Cheetah Maxi Refashion

Hello friends!

I had a couple hours free this Saturday and decided to venture into Goodwill and came out with three refashionable dresses! I knew exactly what to do with this stretchy cheetah dress - MAXI SKIRT! I've been looking for the perfect maxi all summer - even attempting to sew one without a pattern (#fail)! - needless to say, I'm excited about this one! 

Used 1 1/2" thick knit elastic - the thickest I could find

Took the elastic, measured it around my waist where I wanted the skirt to sit and put a pin to mark it.

Next, I laid the top of the dress on my ironing board to chop the arm and neck holes off

Handy dandy yard stick for a straight line!

Chop chop!

 I measured the hem for 2 inches to give slack for the hem and pinned it down all way around. Now, I am going to be honest... I'm lazy. The hem would look ten thousand times better if the fabric was folded in twice and than sewn but common, who looks at the seem inside my skirt??

 

and give it a little sew sew. I did leave about a two inch gap to feed the elastic through.

Elastic time! I used a safety pin to feed it which did made it a little easier to pull through.

After the elastic was through, I pinned the two ends and sewed them together.

Next, I sewed up the two inch gap left for the elastic (where the pins are in the picture below - notice how the gap is laying flat and the fabric in the far left is extra scrunched - obvious but worth noting) and we are good to go!

Final step - try her on!! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner!

Thanks all!