Acute How-To: Simple Sew – Pillow Case Dress

I made this little dress for my niece and it was so easy….just like all my other sewing projects.

In addition to being a simple sewing project, it was also very inexpensive because I was able to find all my supplies at the thrift store.  The total cost of this dress was $3 + about 45 minutes of my time – totally my kind of how-to project!

What you will need:

• one standard pillowcase
• about 28” of double fold bias tape in any color you prefer
• 2 pieces of ribbon, each at 45”
• thread
• sewing machine

Step One:

Wash and dry your pillowcase and lay it out flat on your work table.  Cut off the closed end of the pillow case so that you have a 24” long case.  Depending on the size of the child you are making this dress for, you might need to narrow the pillow case by cutting an inch or two off each long side and re-sewing the seams.

Step Two:

Fold the case over and cut out arm holes {they will be about 8” long and 4” wide}.  I marked mine with a sharpie before cutting.  The marker lines will be covered with the bias tape, so don’t worry about them.

Step Three:

Place your double fold bias tape over the edges of the cut arm holes and pin into place.  Sew the bias tape and repeat this process on the other arm hole.

Step Four:

Fold down about ½” of the top part of the front of the dress {the neck hole} and iron.  Sew into place.  Repeat this step on the back of the dress.

Step Five:

Attach a safety pin to the end of one of your pieces of ribbon and thread it through the front neck hole seam.  Repeat on the back neck hole seam.  Tie the two ribbon ends into a bow.

{Note, I made my dress for a 3-4 year old sized child and ended up having to narrow the dress – the original 18” wide pillow case was too big.  I ended up take about an inch off each side for a better fit.  Depending on the size of the girl you are making this for you might be able to leave the pillow case as is or you might have to take off a few more inches.}