Little Black Sheath Dress

Today, I will tell you how to make the most simple dress you can make. I don't even have any pics to post for the steps. It's that simple. We're making the perfect sheath dress. I love these dresses because you don't need any elastic or zippers (as long as you're using the right fabric) and like I said, it's simple to make. 

With a dress like this, you want to find a poly with a good bit of stretch to it. No lycra or spandex but good stretch! You want to make sure the stretch will be going across you horizontally when you're cutting it out. The other thing I used is a bodycon dress. Yes, a bodycon dress to use as the template. If you don't have a bodycon, find one of your most form fitting dresses to use...Let's get started!

Materials:

1-2 yards of poly (with some stretch) fabric

Matching thread

Dress to use as template

First, lay out your fabric then lay your dress (turned inside out) on top. You want to cut the front and back separately. Use your marking pen and mark around your dress but adding a little bit of wiggle room so your dress isn't as skin tight as the dress you're using. If you end up wearing this to work, you don't want to look like you're headed to the club afterwards. I ended up needing to add a total of 1" to make it a little looser. You can add more if you'd like (which I did at first). It's better to need to take it in then not having enough fabric for it to fit! 

Once both sides are marked out, cut it out and pin (with right sides together) your shoulder seams then your side seams. Serge or zigzag stitch your seams then press. 

Try it on and see if you need to take it in any more. It's easy to pin while you have it on. Just turn it inside out and pin to where you would like your seams to come in to. If needed, take it in some.

Once you're done with your seams, all you need to do is hem your neckline, sleeves and bottom of dress and you're ready to wear it!

I told you it was easy! You can find tons of things you already own to use as a template in order to make some new clothes. Just look at the seam lines of things and you'll find it to be really easy to piece together your own outfits...or you can just follow my blog and I'll show you how :)

Hope you liked this post! Share with your friends and follow me on pinterest!

Cinderella Tunic

I finally got the chance to make it to the fabric store up here and they were having an awesome sale. As we were going in, I was trying to explain to my little one that we won't be long and Mommy was trying to find some fabric to make some new clothes so she needed to be good while we were in the store. She got super excited and asked if she could have a Cinderella dress. I told her we would look at the fabric (it's usually $10/yard! eek!) but it ended up being on sale! So, she picked out her fabric and proceeded to tell every person we passed that she was getting a Cinderella dress and then would start singing a Cinderella song to them. She thinks she is the center of attention everywhere we go, and she ends up being just that. I told her I would start the dress the next day and she didn't forget that! As soon as she woke up, she took her jammies off and was tying to put the yard of fabric around her as a dress. So, I had to start the dress. She watched me the entire time and tried to help until she had to take a nap. Her nap didn't last long and Mommy still had to hem the dress. As soon as it was done, she stared at her self in the mirror for a while then was ready to show it to everyone. She's had it on the past 2 days...I think I'm going to have to make a few more. So if your little one is as crazy about "Erella" as my little one is, this a simple dress to make for them. Heck, you can make one for each day! 

Materials:

About a yard of fabric

Matching thread

A loose dress to use as a pattern

1/4" elastic and 3/8" elastic

To get started, turn the dress you're using inside out and fold it in half. Put it on the fold of your fabric, leaving a couple inches from the fold to where your dress starts. Trace around the dress, extending the neckline and bottom of skirt and leaving enough room for seam allowance around the rest of the dress and cut out 2 of these.

Once you have your pieces cut out, put right sides together and pin the shoulder seams and the side seams. Then serge or zigzag stitch your seams and press.

At this point I tried it on Aubree to make sure the armholes were large enough. That was a huge mistake! She thought her dress was done and would not take it off.

Now, get out your iron and ironing board and press the neckline over (to the wrong side of the fabric) with enough room to put 1/4" elastic and having room for stitching. You may need to notch some places to get the curve to fold over correctly. Then pin in place and stitch down, leaving at least an inch opening to get your elastic in. Then measure around the neckline of the dress you used for your pattern and cut your 1/4" elastic to that measurement plus 1 inch. Slip a safety pin on your elastic and feed it through your casing. Once it is all the way around, overlap your elastic by 1/2" and zigzag stitch together. I always go down, then reverse, then back down and tie off. Get all of your elastic back in the casing and stitch the opening closed.

Time to put the elastic waist in. Instead of making a casing; which I normally do, I cut the 3/8" elastic to my daughter's waist measurement plus 2". Overlap your elastic ends by 1/2" and zigzag stitch together the same way you did for the neckline elastic. Lay your dress out flat and mark a straight line across the waist on front and back (making sure they match up!). Now, slide your elastic band around the dress and pin on one side seam then pull the elastic and find the middle and pin that onto the other side seam. Do this again to pin equal sides of the elastic to the front middle and back middle. Once pinned down, you're going to zigzag stitch the elastic down. Sewing elastic down can be tricky, but all you have to do is pull both sides of your elastic while sewing it down. It will stretch out the elastic to sew down properly then will gather once it's stitched.

 
















Last steps are to hem the armholes and hem the bottom. Hemming the armholes can be tricky too, just notch where needed to get the fabric to lay down flat. I always serge my hemlines so I don't have to press 1/4" in then press another 1/4". If you serge it, all you need to do is serge then press over, pin and stitch. 

Now you have a fabulous Cinderella Tunic that your little one will NEVER want to take off! I made this for my daughter, but you can always use these steps to make one for you too. It doesn't have to be Cinderella fabric, but I won't judge it you want to be a pretty princess!

If you like this tutorial, feel free to share and follow me on pinterest to see all the tutorials I post at makeitlovediy 

Update on color block dress: I STILL CANNOT FIND WHAT BOX IT IS IN!!!!!! It is driving my crazy! This dang dress is almost done and I have no idea what box I put it in while packing. As soon as I find it, I will finish it and post the blog. 

  

Maxi Dress

Time to make a Maxi Dress! Once you see how easy these dresses are to make, you won't want to buy one again. I like maxi dresses because of their versatility. You can dress them down and be casual or dress them up. Good for any occasion! 

I wanted a super flowy maxi dress and found a great polyester fabric at Hancock's. Even better it was only $4.95 and I used a 40% off coupon! Since polyesters are synthetic, they don't breath much. You can find a cotton or knit that's a bit more breathable but with how flowy this dress is, it won't be too horrible in the summer heat.

Materials:

2-3 yards of fabric- depending how tall your are

1/2" elastic- enough for your waist

Flexi-Lace Hem Tape (optional)-used this for my straps

To start cutting out your pattern, you need to start with the skirt. If you have a maxi dress or skirt, measure the bottom to see how wide you need the skirt. You want to make sure it won't be too constricting. The first Maxi that I made, wasn't wide enough for the bottom and you can't walk great in it! I cut both panels for my skirt 27 1/2" wide. Measure from where you want your skirt to start down to the floor and add 2". Cut out your skirt. It should be 2 long rectangles.

To make the bodice, I made a pattern out of an old loose tank top. You need something that has straps to make the pattern. Turn your tank inside-out and trace your shirt leaving room for seam allowance. (As you can see, I usually make my patterns out of newspaper or tissue paper.) Measure out how long you want your bodice and add room for seam allowance. The bottom of your bodice needs to be as wide as your skirt so it will sew together properly. Since my original pattern wasn't as wide as my skirt, I had to expand it out to make it 27 1/2". I didn't want to expand the underarm because I wanted it to fit normally and be flowy towards the bottom of the bodice. There's a pic below to show you how I expanded it. I don't like hemming my bodice, so I always cut a lining out too. So, you'll have 4 pieces for your bodice.

 

 

 To sew your bodice, first start with the front of your dress and the lining. Pin right sides together and zig-zag stitch the sides together, the armholes and the neckline. Keeping the opening between armholes and neckline for your straps. Do the same with your back bodice and lining. Notch around your armholes and neckline, turn inside out and press.

Now that your lining is sewn in, put your dress bodice with right sides together, pin along the side seam and zig-zag stitch or serge and press your seams.

For my straps, I used a Flexi-Lace Hem Tape that I found at the fabric store. You can use whatever you would like. (I just really hate making biased tape to use as straps. It takes FOREVER!) Measure and cut how long you want your straps and add room for seam allowance. Hook a safety pin to the top of your strap and push it down, through one of your strap openings on the front bodice (between your armhole and neckline). Turn it inside out so you can see your strap coming through the inside. Pin your strap in place like this...

 Pin your strap the same way on the other opening of your front bodice and serge or zig-zag stitch closed. Turn right side out again. With safety pin attached to the other end of one of the straps, push down through your strap opening. Make sure your strap isn't twisted! Turn your back bodice inside out again so you can properly pin in place. Do this for the other strap. Pin and zig-zag stitch or serge closed.  Turn right side out and press your bodice.

Now to the skirt...With right sides together, pin, zig-zag stitch or serge your side seams and press. 

To attach your bodice to your skirt, turn your skirt right-side-out and your bodice inside-out. Fit your bodice over your skirt, so both waist lines are together. Since we're going to put elastic in, we have to make a casing for it. You added 2" to your skirt length for seam allowance and for the casing. Pull your bodice down your skirt enough that there's about and inch of your skirt waistline sticking out from your bodice. Once you sew your bodice to your skirt, we'll use the extra 1" to make the casing. Match up your side seams, pin and zig-zag stitch your seam. 

To make the casing, press your 1" of your skirt up to your bodice. Pin all around, matching up side seams and zig-zag stitch around, leaving an opening at the end large enough to push your elastic through.

Your elastic needs to be your waist measurement minus 1". Put a safety pin through one end of your elastic and push it through your casing. Once you get it all the way around, overlap your elastic by 1" and zig-zag stitch closed. Stitch your casing closed.

For the last step, all you need to do is hem the bottom of your dress and you're done!

I also made a shorter dress to show you...

Materials needed:

1-2 yards of fabric
1/2" elastic- enough for your waist
Biased Tape (optional)


This dress is made basically the same way, with a few changes. I made this blue one out of a 100% cotton t-shirt material. (Only $2.50/yrd on sale!)It's super stretchy and very cool. Since it's a thicker fabric than the polyester, I didn't make a lining for it....but I did add pockets! Every dress should really have pockets! I love 'em!

To start this dress, I cut out the front and back bodice. I used a different bodice top pattern for this one but you still have to angel it out for how wide you need it. This dress is 2x the size of your measurement or wherever you want the elastic to fit. I didn't cut lining out for this dress since the fabric is so thick. Put right sides together and pin your side seams and shoulder seams. Sew or serge and press your seams.

Cut your skirt the same way for the maxi, but make it as short as you want it. Remember, it needs to be the same width as the bottom of your bodice and add room for seam allowance, enough room to make your elastic casing (at least 1") and your hem. Cut it into front and back pieces, so you'll have 2 pieces for your skirt.

 To make the pockets, I cut out (4) 5x7 rectangles of fabric. I wanted my pockets to start about 5" down, but have to add another 1" to account for the casing. So, mark 6" down on either side of each of your skirt pieces. Pin your 5" side of one piece of pocket to the right side of your skirt starting at the mark you made. Repeat pinning the pockets onto the right sides of your skirt. Once pinned, zig-zag stitch and press.

Once your pieces of pockets are sewn down, put your skirt pieces with right sides together, lining up your pockets and side seams. Pin, zig-zag stitch or serge down your skirt, around your pocket and back down the rest of your skirt and press your seams.

Put your bodice and skirt together, just like for the maxi. Turn your skirt right side out and turn your bodice inside out. Place your bodice over your skirt, lining your skirt up 1" below the top of your skirt. Pin and zig-zag stitch together. Press your seam and fold your casing down over your skirt. Pin and zig-zag stitch the casing, leaving an opening to thread your elastic through. 

Use a safety pin to hook onto one end of your elastic and feed it through your casing. Your elastic should be the measurement of your waist minus 1". Once your elastic is pushed through, overlap your ends by 1/2" and zig-zag stitch together. Sew your casing closed.

Hem the bottom of your skirt. And for this dress, I used double fold biased tape to put around the armholes and neckline (since I really hate hemming round necklines and armholes). It makes it soooooo much easier! Of course, you don't have to buy it, you can always make it but it takes way too much time for me. Pin the double fold biased tape around your neckline and armholes and top stitch it down. If you haven't used biased tape, the double fold opens up and you can put your neckline and armholes in the middle so if folds over on the front and the inside of your dress.

Now you have two great dresses for Spring and Summer! Hope you enjoyed the tutorial! Next week, I'll hopefully be putting up a tutorial for a romper. Go figure, I LOVE rompers! Every romper I find just doesn't fit right so I'll show you how I make them!

Have a great week!

Spring Time Pleated Mini Dress

I LOVE Spring time! It's finally here and some new Spring dresses need to be added into the wardrobe. I found an amazing dress I wanted, but really didn't want to pay $70+ for it, so I made it for only $15 and a little bit of time. Of course, with a few alterations. This is the perfect dress for Spring and Summer, fun and flirty! I found this awesome fabric at Hancock's (on sale of course) and fell in love! Florals are perfect for this time of year and very on trend.

What you need:

2 yards of fabric

(Enough for your dress and lining for your bodice)

12"-16" zipper

I really wanted to find a fabric with a little spandex in it, but couldn't find anything that I liked. This fabric is just 100% cotton. No stretch what so ever! Since I couldn't find a poly blend, I wanted to add some detail into the dress. I like princess seams, but haven't ever tried them out. So....I broke down and bought a dress pattern. I used Butterick pattern 5554. It's a dress pattern, but I chopped the pattern off to the length I wanted for a bodice. And go figure, I had to alter the pattern to make it fit right. Even though the measurements say it's supposed to fit, it never does!

Let's get started! Cut your pattern out and measure the length you want for your bodice and cut the rest of the pattern off. Make sure you leave enough room for seam allowance at the bottom of your bodice! You can always cut more fabric off, but can't add it back. Cut out your fabric using your patterns. I waited to cut out the lining, we'll save that for later. Cut your waist band out in front and back measurements using your waist measurement and adding room for seam allowance. I cut the waist band on a fold and made it 2" deep. Measure how long you want the length of your skit plus room for seam allowance. Since the skirt is pleated, we'll add a few inches to your waist measurement before we cut the skirt. In the front and back center of the skirt I wanted a box pleat, then 2 pleats on either side of it. We're accounting 2" per pleat. A box pleat is basically 2 pleats turned into each other. For your skirt, we're going to cut it out front and back. So take your waist measurement for the front, then back and add 12" plus room for seam allowance to each.

First, we're going to focus on the bodice. Sew your bodice front and back following the pattern instructions but stop before you sew the front and back together. Princess seams are a bit tricky, but keep trying. I had to take a break trying to figure it out.


  Once you've sewn both sides of the bodice, use each side as the pattern to cut out your lining. (The back should still be in 2 separate pieces that make the whole.) 

Now that you have your lining cut out, with right sides together  pin and zig-zag stitch the front and back of the lining and the front and back of your dress fabric  at the shoulder. Press your seams then match up your dress bodice and lining bodice with right sides together. Pin and zig-zag stitch around the armholes and up one side of the back, around the neckline and down the other back piece.  

To make the triangle cut-out in the back, match your back bodice pieces together. Measure out and mark where you want your triangle. I made sure my triangle started far enough down to cover my bra strap and went down to the bottom of my bodice. Cut out, pin along where you cut your back and zig-zag stitch closed. Turn bodice right side out by pulling the back of the bodice through the shoulders towards the front and press. 

Once your bodice is pressed, we'll close the back of the bodice. In the pattern, they put a zipper down the back of the dress but we're going to put a zipper down the side instead. Turn your back bodice with right sides together and match up your neckline down to the top of your triangle. Pin and serge or zig-zag stitch and press your seam. 

Get both of your waistbands (front and back) and with right sides together, pin waistbands onto your bodice. Make sure the folded edge of your waistbands will be along your bodice. That way it will create a clean edge if you did your triangle cut out like mine. You'll have the gap along your back waistband where your triangle is cut-out. Stitch/serge the waistband to your bodice and press your seams.

Now to the skirt! If you haven't done pleats before, no worries. It's not as hard as it seems but just in case I'm not able to explain it well, there's a picture below. With both sections of your skirt, you'll mark the top center. Mark 2" on either side of your center mark. Measure out the remainder of your fabric on each side and figure out how far apart your (2) 2" pleats need to be making sure you're leaving plenty of room on either side for seam allowance. 

I have a picture below that I'll refer to so I can explain a bit better of how to make the pleats. Each red line that I have marked below, you can fold down that line a few inches and press to make a crease. This will make it easier to match up your marks. One at a time, match each crease up with the corresponding mark going towards the center of your skirt and pin. Once all pleats are pinned, tack down the pleats at the top with a stitch.

 

With right sides together, pin your skirt panels to your waistband. Make sure your box pleat is centered in the front and back and your stitch that is tacking down the pleats won't be shown when you press your seam. Serge or zig-zag stitch your skirt to the waistband and press. 

Turn your dress inside out, so right sides are together and match up your side seams from the underarm all the way down the skirt. Pin and serge or zig-zag stitch. Press your seam. For the right side seam, install your zipper according to manufacturer's instructions. Once your zipper is installed, pin down the rest of the length of your skirt and serge or zig-zag stitch closed. Press your seam. 

Last step! All there is to do now is hem the bottom of your skirt. Have your dress turned inside out and press your skirt bottom up 1/4" then another 1/4", pin and stitch. 

Now you have your super cute Spring dress! I have a feeling I'll be making more of these! Hope this tutorial was useful to you and you're able to understand it! Explaining it is a lot harder than doing it.