Girl's Sundress Tutorial

Sooooo...this is my first ever tutorial, and I'm not quite sure how to go about it, so please forgive me if it's not exactly cohesive. And please feel free to tell me if I need to make any changes, or ask me if you have any questions. So, without further ado, here is my tutorial.

First, a few notes.
1. I'll try to make sure everything is labeled, but in case I forget:
a. All measurements are in inches.
b. The seam allowance (abbreviated SA) is always 1/2" with the exception of the gathering stitches.
2. I did not follow my own instructions and wash/iron my fabric, so it's kind of wrinkly in the pictures. Sorry!
3. I've really put a lot of work into the tutorial, so if you use it and post your finished dress, please give me credit =). That's all I ask!


Must Have Materials:

About 1 yard of washed and ironed fabric (I prefer lightweight 100% cotton prints, but it's really your choice)
Coordinating thread
Elastic thread
Scissors
Ruler
Buttons (about 5/8" in diameter; these go inside the dress, so purely functional, not decorative)
Iron
Ironing Board
Spray bottle filled with water
Hand sewing needle

Optional But Really Useful Stuff

Self-healing mat
Rotary cutter
Clear wide ruler
Extra bobbin
Seam Ripper (get friendly with it...if you're like me, you'll be spending a lot of quality time with it)
Straight pins
Water soluble fabric marker
Measuring tape
Chopstick (yes, you read that right)

Okay, I think I got it all!

Now let's get started! First, grab your kid and measure. A measuring tape is handy but not necessary. If you don't have one, or if you have kids (like mine) who squirrel away all of your earthly possessions, grab a string and use that, then measure it along a ruler when you're done wrapping up your kid with it.

Measurements:

A = chest measurement (at its widest circumference)
B = from armpit to desired waistline
C = from desired waistline to desired hemline
D = from chest over shoulder to shoulder blade (this will be the strap length)
E = desired strap width (about 1" is good, but you can go wider if you'd like)

Mathematics:

I know it's probably been awhile since algebra class, but finally your math teacher's predictions that you would indeed use algebra someday are coming to fruition. We are going to measure and cut our straps, bodice front, bodice back, and skirt, but we need your little one's measurements to figure it out. Here are the equations:

Straps (cut two):
D + 1" (add another inch or two if you want it to criss cross) = length
(2 x E) + 1" = width

Mae's dress: 3" by 10"

Skirt (cut two):
C + 2" = skirt length
(3 x A)/2 = skirt width

Mae's dress: 25" by 11"

Bodice Front (cut two):
A/2 = width
B + 1 = length

Mae's dress: 9" by 4"

Bodice back (cut two):
A - 2 = width
B + 1 = length

Mae's dress: 16" by 4"


That should leave you with this:



With right sides together, pin the two bodice back pieces together along the width. (Forgive me, but the fabric I used does not have right/wrong sides, so you can't see it in my pictures!)

I like to clump my work together, so I also pinned the straps at this time. Fold them in half lengthwise with right sides together, and pin along the length.

Top left are the straps pinned together, bottom left is the bodice back:



And you can also pin the skirt together now...with right sides together, place the two skirt pieces on top of each other. Pin the length of the skirt on both sides. These will be the side seams. One trick I learned from heirloom sewing is to sew in the same direction each time. So I pinned my skirt a little funky so that I will sew from the waist to the hem on both side seams.



Now, for the straps.... With a 1/2" seam allowance (SA), starting on the folded edge, sew one short end until you have 1/2" left, making sure the needle is in the down position. Lift the presser foot and pivot the material so that you will be sewing down the length with a 1/2" SA. Sew all the way to the end, leaving that short end open. It should look like this at one end (where you pivot):



And like this at the other end:



Do the same thing with the second strap. Next, cut the SA close to the seam:



Then turn the straps inside out. This is where the chopstick comes in handy. Mmmmmm, sounds like a good enough reason to order Chinese!



Press the straps, then topstitch all around (stitch really close to the edges).



Now, take one bodice front piece and lay it right side up. Place the straps where you would like them to lay (the inside edges of the straps are 3" apart on Mae's dress). Place the open end of the straps even with the top edge of the bodice piece.



Place the second bodice piece directly on top, right side down (so the two bodice pieces are right sides together). Pin in place, especially making sure to pin the straps in place.



With a 1/2" SA, sew along the edge where the straps are flush with the bodice top. It's hard to see in the picture, but the seam is at the bottom of the picture, NOT at the top where the straps are coming out.



With a 1/2" SA, sew along the length of the bodice back.



Press open the bodice front and the bodice back.



With right sides together and lining up the seams, place the bodice front onto the bodice back. Pin into place and sew with a 1/2" SA. These are the side seams. Press open the seams. The first picture only shows one side seam pinned, but make sure you do both. When it's done, it will look like the second picture because the bodice front is not as wide as the bodice back.





Now, fold the bodice down so wrong side are together and the straps are out. Press. This is the entire bodice top.



With a 1/2" SA, sew the skirt's side seams. I used my serger here, but your regular straight stitch will do fine here.



Adjust your stitch length to a basting stitch (the highest stitch length on your machine). Sew two rows around the top of the skirt, the first with a 3/8" SA and the second with a 1/4" SA. You can get away with sewing only one row, but I prefer two because it's stronger. It will look like this:



Pulling the bobbin threads, gather the fabric until the side seams match up with the side seams on the bodice. The bodice back is much longer than the bodice front, so match up the back first. Tie off the bobbin strings once you have the skirt gathered to the correct width.

Place the bodice top into the skirt, with right sides together. Match up the side seams and pin.



Adjust the gathers so they are spread evenly and pin, pin, pin. I like pinning. A lot. So I pin the heck out of my stuff. Turn your stitch length back to the normal length you use. With a 1/2" SA, sew the skirt to the bodice. When you turn it right side out, it should look like this:



Press the skirt with the bodice/skirt edge down towards the hemline. With the dress right side out, topstitch the skirt just below the waistline.





Starting just above the waistline, about 1/8" of an inch up, use a ruler and a water soluble fabric marker to mark even lines on the bodice back, from one side seam to the other. Continue marking rows up the bodice back in increments of 3/8" until you reach the top of the bodice. It's kind of hard to see because I used a blue marker on green fabric, but you can kind of get the idea:



Now, wind your extra bobbin by hand with elastic thread. Take care not to wind it too tightly or too loosely!



Remove the bobbin with your normal thread and replace it with the bobbin with elastic thread. Leave your regular thread in the needle, so when you sew, the top thread is regular, and the bottom thread is elastic.



With the right side up, starting at the line closest to the waistline, sew along the marked lines. Make sure you backstitch at the start and end of each row, and cut the threads between rows. It will start to gather and look like this:



The elastic thread will be on the inside of the dress bodice:



Head over to your ironing board and spray the bodice back. The elastic thread will shrink up and gather. Press with the iron on a hot steam setting to help it shrink. It will look like this when you're done:



Now hem your dress however you prefer.

Almost done!!! Mark where you want the buttons to be on the back bodice. I do this by lying the dress flat and putting the buttons about 1/2" in from the inside of the straps, on the second row of elastic from the top. This works well for criss-crossing the straps, but you might want to move the buttons just a tad further apart if you don't plan to criss-cross the straps.



Mark on your strap where you want to buttonholes, making them about 1/8" longer than the button's diameter, and stitch them. If you've never used your buttonhole feature before, PRACTICE on scrap fabric first! I'm still not great with mine, but oh well...I can get the job done. I place two buttonholes on each strap so it will be more adjustable. You can see them in the picture right above.

Last but not least, this is very optional, if you'd like, you can sew a ribbon around the waistline. Sew it across the bodice front from side seam to side seam so that it doesn't interfere with the stretch on the back bodice (otherwise you might have a hard time getting the dress on your kiddo). If you want, leave enough ribbon at the side seams to pull back and tie in a a bow in the middle of the back.


And voila! You are done, and you have made a lovely (if I do say so myself) sundress.

Here are some pictures of my cuties in their dresses: