Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Pillowcases Dresses: Sew Simple!

Looking at patterns and reading directions is somewhat of a daunting task when it comes to sewing.  The diagrams and lines on a pattern can be really confusing to me.  Even the language boggles my mind.  Selvage, anyone?  Ugh!  Therefore, after opening the envelope and glancing at the directions on how to make a pillowcase dress, I simply dismissed the project until my parents returned from their month long adventure in Florida.

Last week, my mom and I decided to give the pillowcase dresses a shot.  My mom came over two times to work on the dresses and when she returned home, she continued sewing two more dresses for Mimi and Vi.  Only my mom was busy combining two dress patterns, sewing in a lining, a contrast band on Mimi's dress, and a ruffle on Vi's.  Needless to say, these dresses are fantastic and the girls look super cute in them!  But back to the pillowcase dresses.  The girls had picked out two different fabrics:  mermaids and butterflies.  Of course, Violet changed her mind and decided butterflies are not for her and decided she must have mermaids.  Mom and I were able to cut out the material so both girls could have mermaids.  Now, I can either make two more pillowcase dresses out of butterfly material or attempt something different.

I did not take pictures while my mom and I were working on Mimi's dress and Kevin was not home to stalk us with the camera.  I made Mimi's dress with help.  Violet's dress as made completely on my own.  I am pretty proud of how they both turned out.  I do not have a picture of Violet in her dress because she and I are living in a precarious time when it comes to getting dresses.  Remember, we live in Michigan and the weather has been changeable lately.  Also, when I want Vi to try the dress on, she does not want to.  When I don't need her to try it on, she very much wants to try on the dress.  She and I are at odds when it comes to getting dressed lately.  Plus, when I finished sewing the dress, this was how I found Miss Vi:

It is hard to be three!
Anyway, here is Mimi in her mermaid pillowcase dress:

Yes, Mimi is posing for this picture.  
 After Mimi's photo shoot, this was how I found Miss Vi:

How is that even comfortable???
All in all, if you want to make a pillowcase dress, give it a try.  Mimi's dress took a about five hours with my mom.  Violet dress took about four hours since it was my second try.  Basically, you cut out a front and a back and sew the seams.  Piece of cake!!!!  

4 comments:

  1. Found your blog via Dakotapam. Where did you get your pattern?

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    1. Hi Esther! I used the Simplicity Pattern 2391. Here is another tip, never pay full price for patterns. JoAnn Fabrics frequently has pattern sales for 99 cents. There are quite a few online tutorials but I have found that when making anything but a pillow, patterns work best for me.

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