Pillow Case Dresses with Lace

I realized that my pillowcase dress was pin quite a bit at Pinterest. So, recently I saw this set of pillowcase and sheet from Ikea in bright pink gingham and thought I could make another one for my girls.

Actually I made 2 since the set came with 2 pillowcases. I made both the same as a matchy sisters outfit but decided to add a little difference at the hem. The first one has lace ruffles at the hem.

The second dress has ruffles made from the same pillowcase fabric.

Want to try making one?

Material
Pillowase
Lace
Grosgrain ribbon

Measure your kid to see how long you want your dress. Don't have to be exact for the chest since it will be gathered with the ribbon.

1. I fold the pillow in half and cut a J shape to make the armhole as well as cut the tapered line from armhole to the hem of the skirt.  See my other tutorial.  I didn't cut off the top portion unlike my previous tutorial as I need this part to fold over as a casing for the ribbon.

2. After you have cut the pieces, sew the 2 side seams together, Right Side facing. Serge or zig zag over the seams.

3. Fold over 1/4" at the armhole to the wrong side and then fold again to make a narrow seams. Sew.

4. Then, fold 1/4" of the top portion to the wrong side and sew. Fold over about 2" again to make the casing. Sew close to the bottom edge. Just make sure that your casing is big enough for you to insert the ribbon.  Do the same for the back ribbon casing.

5. At the front, I pin a stripe of lace just beneath the casing. Fold and sew the raw edge of the lace in so that it don't fray.

Sew carefully, make sure don't sew over the casing.

6a. For the hem of the first dress, I use the same lace and serge the upper raw edge using a narrow hem stitch.

see the narrow stitch hem on the top

Then, I use the longest stitch and higher tension on my sewing machine and sew 1/2" from the edge. It will automatically gather the lace.

7a. Attach the lace to the hem and sew along the same gathered stitch. Oh, you have to serge or zig zag the dress hem so that it doesn't fray.  After you have sewn the lace, remove the basting/gathering stitch.

6b. Or if you prefer using the same fabric, just cut a long stripe from the same fabric, about 1.5 times longer than your hem width and 2" width.  Serge the top and bottom of the stripe. Then using the same method above and gather your stripe into a long ruffles.

6b. Pin and sew the ruffle to the hem of your dress. Insert the ribbon and you are done!

For my 2 year old, I use 32" long grosgrain ribbon and for my 7 year old, I use about 52" long. I fold the ends of the ribbon twice and sew the raw edge down. 

Time to enjoy the dress.  My older girl has yet to wear it but my younger one looks so cute in it.