DIY Pillowcase Dress Tutorial. No ARMholes to cut out!

.Pillowcase Dress Tutorial.
NO ARMHOLES TO CUT OUT!

This is a very easy Pillowcase Dress Tutorial. If you can sew a straight line you can sew this Pillowcase Dress. No ARMHOLES to cut out!!

Supplies Needed:
1yd of fabric
Scissors
Thread
Sewing Machine
2 - 3 yds Ribbon 1.5"
Safety Pin

**Before I started I sewed 6" of pink fabric to my brown fabric. You can just use a solid peice of fabric or add a trim like mine if you would like. I'm writing this tutorial like the brown and pink fabric is one solid peice of fabric.

Getting Started:

Decide want size you are making. I want a 6x dress. I need it to be 24" long.

Here are some Pillowcase Dress Sizes you can use:
6-9 Months: 14" Long
12 Months: 15.5" Long
18 Months: 17.5" Long
2T: 19.5" Long
3T: 21" Long
4T: 22" Long
5/6: 24" Long
7/8: 26" Long

I personally like all of Madison's PCD to be 21" long. She wears a 6/7 and it is a long shirt instead of a dress. It goes right above her knees and looks adorable with a pair of jeans or leggings.

Cutting Your Fabric:
Cut your fabric at 21". This is the width of the dress. It is about 3x's the chest measurements.

You need to cut 2 panels of fabric. One for the front of the dress and one for the back of the dress.

If you are making a PCD under 12Months old cut it at 20". If it is over a size 8 cut it at 22".


Decide what lenght you need
I need a dress 24" long. Add 3 inches to the length you need. Cut your fabric. I will cut my fabric at 27" long. I added 3 inches, because I'm adding 2 inches to the top and 1" to the bottom of the dress.

Now you have two panels of fabric both measuring 21" width x 27" (or whatever your length + 3 is) Length.

Lets Start Sewing!

Sewing the Sides

Start with the sides of your dress, fold the fabric 1/2" and sew. I fold my fabric once and use a zigzag sticth. You could double fold your fabric and use a straight stitch if you prefer.

Sew both sides of the dress and do the same thing with your other panel of fabric. (4 total)

Sew the Bottom

I fold the bottom part of the dress 1" and sew a zig zag stitch. Do the same with your other panel of fabric.


Right now you should have 2 panels of fabric with 3 sides sewn. The top of the dress is still unsewn at this point.

Sew the Top of your dress
Fold your fabric down 2" and sew a zig zag stitch.

TIP: You want to always make sure to sew this part (top of the PCDress) after you sew the sides of the dress. If you do it first you will mess up the armholes and the hole to add your ribbon.

Sewing your 2 fabric panels together

Have both outsides of your fabric panels facing eachother and line them up. It should look like it's inside out.
Start from the bottom of the dress and sew a straight stitch 1/4" from the side. Do NOT sew all the way up! You will sew closed the armholes.

Stop 6" from the top of your PCDress. This is your ARMHOLE!

Repeat and do the samething with the other side. Make sure to stop 6" from the top of the dress!!

On the inside of your dress open up the flap. Sew back up the side of your dress using a zig zag stitch. Repeat with other side. make sure to stop at the 6" mark again. You are just resewing over the straight stitch we just did.

Turn your Pillowcase Dress right side out. It should look like a Pillowcase :)

Add the Ribbon

Grab your 1.5" wide ribbon and cut at 36" - 46". I cut my ribbon at 36". You will need 2 peices of ribbon. One for the front of the dress and one for the back of the dress. 

Use a safety pin in the middle of your ribbon. Feed it through the hole in the top of your dress...
Feed the safety pin all the way and even the ribbon out on both sides. Do the same thing to the other side of your Pillowcase Dress.

Sewing your Ribbon in Place

Fold the top of your PCD in half to find the center of your ribbon. Sew using a zig zag stitch to secure. Repeat with the other side of your dress.

Heat Sealing Your Ribbon

Fold each end of your ribbon in half. Hold securely and cut to a point. Keep holding your ribbon in half and heat seal the ends with a lighter or wood burner.

Voila! You are finished and didn't have to worry about any armholes :)

If you have any questions email me!

Learn how to make a matching bow by clicking here!

Learn how to add an applique to the front of your PCD by clicking here!

17 comments:

  1. Very cute. I like that you don't have to cut out arm holes or have extra bias tape for the arm holes. Love the pink and brown combo.

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  2. I needed this tutorial! I started a pillowcase dress a few weeks ago and got stuck when it came to hemming the arm holes. I'm not a sewer, so hemming is new to me and I'm just as happy to avoid the arm holes altogether! Thank you!

    I found you today through Tip Junkie. :-)

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  3. These would make such cute christmas gifts for my little nieces.


    I featured your project in a recent blog post...
    http://radcrafter.com/2011/11/12-diy-christmas-gift-ideas/

    Alida

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  4. Thank you so so much for this!!!!! I JUST made my first dress...which I've been wanting to do for..oh two years, but armholes and bias tape always deterred me. Now I can use all this ribbon n fabric i have for my two lil girls! <3 how easy you made it, and the step by step pics!!!

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  5. You're welcome! I am so happy this blog post inspired you to create :)

    Come back and visit again soon!!!

    Raychel

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  6. In your own creativity, you can make wonderful dress. Having this kind of skill is something that you should be proud of.

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  7. When making smaller size dresses do you still leave the 6" allowence on the sides for the arm holes? Thanks for this tutorial! Im excited to make my youngest a dress for her bday this summer!

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  8. Thank you! I would actually keep it 6". The main reason I love these dresses is because girls can wear them for years. Soon it will be a long shirt instead of a dress :) that she can pair with leggins or jeans. I only change it to 5" when I'm working with newborn-12m.

    Hope that helps :)

    Raychel

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  9. Thank you so much for this tut. This is the most informative, easy to understand tut of a pillow case dress I've seen and I'm crazy excited to try this.

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  10. This may seem like a silly question, but when it comes to the ribbon... do you feed it through all the way around front and back casing, and then with the second ribbon you go all the way around from the opposite side? Or do you mean one strand of ribbon goes through the casing on the back of the dress, and the second ribbon goes through the casing on the front of the dress? >I'm such a newbie!<

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    Replies
    1. Yes! You can just use one long ribbon if you'd like to and just tie it above one shoulder. I use 2 ribbons. One for the front and one for the back. That way I can tie the ribbons above each shoulder.

      Thank you for your question :)

      Raychel

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  11. I'm just confused on folding the dress and securing the ribbon. Can you explain that in a little more detail? This will be my first time sewing a dress. :) Thanks!

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    Replies
    1. I just fold the dress to find the middle. Once I find the middle I sew (tac) the ribbon in place. You do not have to do this but if you dont the ribbon can be pulled out during washing. Please, let me know if this helped :)

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  12. I made PCS but at the to top I'd straight instead of being bunched up! Please help

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    Replies
    1. If you hold the fabric in place and pull the ribbon (after it's been sewn in place) it will bunch it up.

      Raychel
      www.My-CreativeWay.com

      Delete
  13. Do you by chance have measurements for newborn and 3 month pillowcase dresses? Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

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