Seersucker Peasant Dress Tutorial: A Guest Post by Jen @ Sunny Vanilla

I don't need to give much of an introduction to Jen from Sunny Vanilla; she has an awesome blog, is a gorgeous person and if you have kids/know kids/aspire to have kids, you are going to want to read this tutorial.  That is all!  Happy reading - R xx

Hi there!  My name is Jen and I blog over at Sunny Vanilla.

 

I'm a wife, a mom, and a lover of all things creative.  I taught myself how to sew while staying at home with our daughter and I've been addicted ever since.  Today I'll be sharing a sewing tutorial with you.  It's probably the easiest dress to tackle for newer sewers, so if you're new to sewing or just getting back into it, this is one to practice on.

I didn't use a pattern for this dress, just two sheets of computer paper taped together.  Real classy folks! I based it on the pattern found here and then tweaked the sizing and sleeves.    To get started, here's what you'll need:

Materials

 1 yd. of seersucker fabric

1/4 in. elastic {I used Dritz}

pins

Note: I adjusted these after making the first dress because it was snug in the chest and arm area.  The measurements above should fit most 2T children.

Once you've cut out your fabric, you'll need to create the arms for the dress.  

Cut two 12" x 12" squares for the arms.

Now fold the 12" x 12" square and line the dress on top of it and cut along the dress line.  Do the same for the neck line at top.

You should have four pieces like this.

This is what it should look like.  Now sew the two pieces together with a straight stitch about 3/8" from the edge.  Sew along the edge with a zig zag stitch for extra support.  *Note, don't sew the bottom part of the sleeve to the dress, just sew the armhole to the dress.

Repeat for the other arm.

It should look something like this.

Now sew the two side of your dress together.  Make sure to sew all the way up to the sleeve {that should be the part I said not to sew in the beginning...hope that makes sense}.

Now fold the top edge over twice and iron down.  Once pressed, sew a straight stitch close to the edge of the fold.  Make sure to leave a two inch hole so you can slip your elastic through.

Cut 14" of elastic.  This will be for your neck.  Slip it through the hole you created with a safety pin attached to the end.  This will help guide it through.

Once you pull it through, sew the two ends together and close the hole together with a straight stitch.

Okay, now you're going to do the exact same thing with your sleeve.  Fold the sleeve over twice and press.  

Cut 6" of elastic for one sleeve.  Use the same method as you did for the neck.  Repeat for the other sleeve.

Almost done!!!  Fold the bottom of your dress over twice {like you did for the neck and sleeve} and sew a straight stitch along the edge.

Now flip right side out, sit back, and admire your work.

Happy sewing!

xo,

Jen