I checked another item off my 30 Before Thirty list last night! #8: Sew a dress for Eleanor. I made a pillowcase dress, following Jaime’s tutorial on Prudent Baby.
I was going to make my own bias tape because Jacinda’s was so cute, but then I hesitated after realizing that it’s probably a huge pain to do without the proper doodad. Twitter confirmed my suspicions.
So I went with the brown bias tape that I already had on hand, and some Amy Butler fabric that I bought for curtains but never used. The dress took me three hours from start to finish, but that is because I am most definitely a novice when it comes to sewing. It would probably only take an hour and a half, maybe two hours, for someone with more experience.
The dress turned out nicely though. It’s so sweet! I’ll probably swap out the long satin ribbon for something a little more practical, but it was pretty for these photos.
If you’d like to make a dress for a little girl but aren’t sure of your sewing abilities, I recommend making a pillowcase dress. The trickiest part was attaching the bias tape to the arm holes, but if you can handle that the rest is easy. And it’s so cute. I want to make a million more.
101 comments
Chloe @Ergo-Blog
What a little cutie!! Beautiful dress! =)
eryn
This dress is adorable! I wish I could sew and that I had a little girl to make one for.
Chrissy
SELL these!! I’ve been following your site now for almost a year and LOVE every little sweet creative touch you add to your home and loved ones! GREAT JOB–seriously! sell them!
Jody
I’m newly following your blog and I just had to pop in to say WoW. That dress is stunning. I find it hard to believe that you are a novice. :)
Best wishes for the pregnancy–I had 2 under 2 for six months and as crazy as it was, it’s amazing. They are best friends. :)
nicelle
SO, SO cute!! Very inspiring, thank you. I will try this for my 3 yr old and purchase the bias tape! ;o)
Staci Edwards Design
How darling!!
RookieMom Whitney
Oh my, it is so cute. And so is Eleanor.
Courtney
Several sellers have really cute custom bias tape on Etsy if you want to add some detail to future dresses without the headache of producing your own. :) Adorable dress on an adorable baby girl!
Gwendolyn
She looks so cute in that dress! Yes, make many more!!! :)
Jenny
that is so cute :D
Jessica
That is the most darling thing ever. So creative and unique.
Shelly P.
That is the cutest pillowcase dress I’ve ever seen! Great job sewing it:) Love reading about your 30 before 30, it’s inspiring!
maja
adorable. i love, love, love my two little boys, but projects like this do make me a little jealous ;)
Sarah Litty
I want to know where you got the rosey cabinet knobs! I heart those…
Jessica
Cutsie pootsie adorable.
Amelia
love-love-love-love-looooooooooooooooove it!
Jill
Such an adorable dress! Eleanor looks just like you, so cute! Great job.
Holyoke Home
Dar.
Ling.
Any little girl would look dreamy in that!
AbraCat
Would it be wrong to size this up and make it for, say, a 37 year old?
Kristín
Good job! Looks really cute, love the fabric and your daughter is beautiful :)
Stacy
Dress is adorable, but I also love the curtains. Did you purchase the fabric and make them or were you able to buy the curtains somewhere…most know!
Steph
this is SO CUTE!!!! I love the big brown ribbon!!!
jaime
HEY!!!!! what a treat to get home from a trip and see this! your dress turned out sooo gorgeous!
Sylvia
Adorable!
I can sew… Just not in a straight line ;)
Michele C
I love to make bias tape. It’s a very calming job to do when I have lots on my brain but want to still be in the sewing room. Please consider contacting me if you would like custom bias tape made for your next project. You can either direct me to the fabric you want me to zip together or send me the fabric you have on hand.
I have some ready-made tape you can check out in my 2nd etsy shop here: ttp://www.etsy.com/shop/thehandmadefair
Valentina
So cute!
I want to make some for my nieces. Could be a pretty christmas gift… Thank you!
Bonnie
Aww! She just gets cuter and cuter! She shows so much more of her personality as she gets older. Oh–and the dress is lovely.
Nicole RJ
So, so cute! I’m on the hunt for some vintage pillow cases and crossing my fingers we’re having a little girl so I have someone to make the dresses for! *lol*
Valerie
Congrats on marking another thing off your list! You inspired me to start my own list (I turn 30, 5 months from today!). My list is here http://alanandval.blogspot.com/2010/08/30-by-thirty-today-marks-5-months-until.html and I even mentioned you as my inspriation and linked to your blog. Hope you’ll take a look! Good luck on the rest of your list!
anne
Such a cute cute dress! I love the photo with the book.
Jessica J
What a cute dress! I’ve been wanting to learn to sew and tackle some easy projects, but I can’t even decide on a machine to buy. What kind of machine do you have?
kristi
I second Jessica J’s question. I’m having trouble deciding on a beginner sewing machine and keep finding mixed reviews. Any advice?
michelle
it’s adorable, you did such a great job. it looks like the perfect style dress for this super hot summer we’ve been having.
kaelin
Bias tape isn’t as scary as it sounds. Here’s a good tutorial you should try and play around with when you have some extra time, because making your own gives you a lot more design options.
My problem is not the time or desire to sew, but that I don’t have any cute little babies to make things for! I have a giant stash of adorable fabric I’m hoarding for my “future babies”…haha!
Hells Bells
Very very cute, such a stylish girl!
Just worth mentioning though that the ribbon around the neck might be a bit dangerous, there are a lot of regulations out there now advising against any kind of ties around childrens necks as there is risk of strangulation…Not very nice I know, but worth bearing in mind. Love the fabric though!
Jakki
How cute is THIS! So adorable…she’s already more fashionable than I am and I’m 39….
JenWoodhouse.com
Super cute! Great job!
Jacinta
Very very very very very cute!
It’s great to start with kids clothes to gain sewing experience and confidence… you really can’t go wrong! :)
modelmumma.blogspot.com
Christine@OrigamiMommy
What a lovely little pillowcase dress! It’s so fun to sew for little ones. I’ve been doing a bunch of dress sewing lately, inspired by Japanese sewing books and online tutorials. I have to say, I do make my own bias tape without that doodad thingie and I think it’s very easy (I used the doodad thing too, and found it more tedious). The important thing is to have a nice hot iron and a water sprayer. I also have sharp scissors and fold the fabric over a few times so I’m cutting just a short piece and when it unfolds it’s long and even. Now that I do it all the time I am entranced by the possibilities and feel I can make more creative fabric mixing choices! It’s also a great way to use up scrap fabric.
Jacinda
I can’t wait for Jaime to see your adorable creation when she gets home from a biz trip tomorrow! I so agree on the bias tape, there is a great handmade business in selling bias tape in pretty prints.
justme
So sweet! What CAN’T you do??
Melissa
Her dress is adorable! Beautiful job, Nicole!
Lisa
Very cute! It goes well with the dress
shannon burch
Soooo cute!
Love the brown & white curtain fabric on the window behind her. What is it?
Terri
Absolutely gorgeous…both the dress and the baby!
Miss B
So, so, so cute! I love it and Eleanor is perfect model for your dress. I want a grown-up version.
Catherine
Gorgeous dress on your gorgeous girl! I’m so inspired!!
Stephanie
The dress is beautiful!
jbhat
Good job. And she’s darn tootin’ cute too.
liz @ bon temps beignet
oh my goodness. love the dress and the ‘side-eye pic!
Mercedes
you inspire the hell out of me!
Natalie
Awesome job – so cute!
BTW, those rosey knobs are to die for! :)
Jamie
I love those curtains behind Eleanor (and of course her dress but don’t we all!). I’m sure you’ve mentioned it before and I just missed it but where did you get those curtains from?
Nick
They’re from anthropologie…
Katrina
Oh how darling! If I had a little girl I would so MAKE this!!
Redlilocks {Swoon Worthy}
I’m about the least maternal person there is but my god, your little one is just so flippin cute with all her little expressions, I just want to EAT HER UP! Gorgeous dress, absolutely stunning little model! Such a cutie :)
Deana
That fabric is so beautiful! the dress turned out really really well… Kudos to you!
Michelle
super adorable. I just love it! I totally want to make a million of those dresses now!
Maggie
SO adorable!1 I love the ribbon – such a sweet little touch!
Alexis L., The Studioist
So sweet. One of the best applications of Amy Butler I’ve seen.
Elizabeth
That is beyond cute. It’s a smart shape for a girl’s dress- it’ll take her a while to grow out of it, and it would be easy to alter into a top if she did! You’re lucky to have such a photogenic little miss!
gina
You are the most creative person! Everything you touch is adorable!! go girl!
Stephanie
Adorable! I LOVE the fabric choice.
Bermomma
Ha, I made my Button a pillow case dress as well. It was on my 30 before 30 list as well. Too fun! I love your pattern. I posted a few photo’s of the dress I made for my little one on m y blog if you are interested. After doing that project for my girl, I’ve become inspired and am now starting on some fun curtains for her room.
Amanda Major
Do you remember the name of that fabric or know if it is still available. It is exactly what I’ve been looking for! I’ll purchase the remainder from you if its enough to make curtains from!
E. RaMona
Beautiful…
Jen
This is simply adorable! Makes me want a little girl even more, and I didn’t think that was quite possible… and it also kinda makes me wish I knew how to sew…
xoxo,
Jen
luuve
oh my! one of my FAVORITE amy butler patterns..this dress is sooo cute..and eleanor makes even cuter! her little face is just soo precious!
good job :)
Nick
Turned out really good! My wife made a pillow case dress for our daughter a while back…
http://willscasados.blogspot.com/2010/06/ambers-getting-sew-good.html
Then she made her a couple of reversible apron dresses…
http://willscasados.blogspot.com/2010/06/sew-more.html
all while she was learning how to sew…
Kristen
That dress is adorable! You did a great job!
Wanderluster
So cute. Is a coordinating dress for mommy in the works too? The fabric looks so great on Eleanor. She’s so blonde!
RisaJ
sooo cute! great job!
Melissa
Nice work – love the dress and your precious little girl.
Gemma
Such a cute dress- love, love, love that print! That big shiny ribbon is just perfect!
My 2 cents about the bias tape maker: for smaller projects such as this…do it by hand..if making binding for larger items, like baby blankets, quilts, etc – then splurge on the $8.00 for it. And use the ‘continuous’ method for making it, rather than piecing all those small lengths together :)
Ludmila {creamylife.com}
So sweet! well done!
Jules
I just died from too much cute.
Georgina
Totes Adorbs!!!! Well done :)
lauren
How cute!!! She’s such a sweetie!
Tiffany
i love the fabric! and yeah, bias tape. not so fun. i had a couple pillowcase dress tutorials that i thought you would be interested for next dress you make…
pleated bow pillowcase dress: http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2010/07/pleated-bow-pillowcase-dress-tutorial/
and the retro ruffle pillowcase dress: http://www.simplymodernmom.com/2010/04/retro-ruffle-dress-from-a-pillowcase/
Jen @ homeinthecountry
So adorable – I love the fabric you used! I made a similar dress for my niece last week, but instead of sewing so that the ribbon ties around the neck, I sewed elastic at the top of each dress and then extended the bias tape under the arms so that they’d come up and over the shoulders and tie on both sides. I’m also a novice sewer, and it was so easy and fun… I’ll have to track down other little girls to make dresses for! :)
Jill Marie
This is sooo adorable! my little girl is 10. I will have to pass this on to friends who have little-little girls!
Thanks for sharing!
Melissa Irvin
ADORABLE!! I can see this style in heavier fabric with a long sleeved shirt and leggings in the winter time! Eleanor is a great model. Good job, Momma!
Alicia
That turned out SO cute! “Making it Lovely” for sure! Much nicer than the pillowcase dresses I’ve been making, I may need to change it up and use this tutorial instead!
Stacey
She looks so cute, and I love the fabric. Great job, Nicole!
Teresa Fairbank
This is very cute! I LOVE making these dresses, they whip up so easily. :) I do make my own bias tape though, it’s not really that hard, it just takes a few minutes to get it all folded and ironed right….I like that I can match it to my fabric and it’s not so noticeable, ANYHOW, congratulations, you did a great job on this! ;)
Your Mother
So cute – and the dress is cute too. :)
Kerry
Absolutely adorable little dress! Looks so cute on her – great work!
Kate
Really adorable! My mom made a ton of my clothes when I was little and those are definitely the pieces that have the best memories.
teresa
Oh my gosh, how adorable!! I absolutely love it (and the model is even more cute than the dress).
Jaime Runs
Oh good lord if that isn’t the cutest thing I’ve ever seen. Great job on the sewing!
Emily
Great job! I’ve also been procrastinating making bias tape, b/c there are more things that need my time right now.
julia
That is so cute! I’d definitely bookmarking it for future (very far future!) use.
Christine
SO cute! I’m a sewing novice like you and this I just might be able to tackle. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love how she’s posing in front of the curtains, the fabric has been given new life!
Krysta
Ok, that dress is SO cute. And your daughter! Oh my goodness she is the sweetest!
Mandy Ford
Adorable!!
Rhea (Greek Feaster)
This is so professional-looking and cute to boot– bravo!
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