Okay, a new year……and a lot of fun new things to share! My brain (and possibly my hands) can’t even keep up with what I’d really like to accomplish this year. I’ll just have to pick and choose…..but I’m pretty excited!Â
However, to get things started off right, how about a sweet little dose from my youngest (and ahem, spiciest?) child, Chloe. (I’m not kidding……the spice that comes out of this child is kind of jaw-dropping some days.) This morning, I was making this quick little dress before the kiddos were awake (and am now posting at nap time….whew) and Chloe came down the stairs in her jammies and asked, “hey, what are you makin’ momma?” I looked at her excitedly and said, “a dress for you!” She quickly responded with a high pitched happy 2-year-old squeal and said, “YAAAY!”Â
Ha……that’s just too easy! I’ll sew you 7 dresses a day if you always act that excited. :)
And you know, I could totally make 7 of these dresses in a day…….because they are simple, simple, simple. My FAVORITE!
A T-shirt, a little knit fabric, minimal sewing (remember, it’s knit, so skip those hems!)……..and DONE!
And all I did was combine the Circle Dress tutorial with the Square Circle Skirt tutorial. Another 2 of my favorites…..so yeah, no surprise I squished them into one. :)
So, yeah, a little twist from the regular ol’ circle dress……but with a little variation along the hem.
However, instead of leaving the waist-line plain…..I added a quick little ruched belt. Don’t get scared…..this version really is simple.
The belt is tied around to the back…..in a floppy bow. And boy, do those layers give the skirt portion some movement. Perfect for twirling!
And this girl? She loves it! Which isn’t surprising because dresses are her favorite thing to wear. ABSOLUTE favorite!
If you have, oh……about 45 minutes to spare, you can make one too. Really, that easy! :)
Let’s get started….
Be sure and pull up the Circle Dress tutorial and the Square Circle Skirt tutorial. Most of what you need come right from those two tutorials.
So yes, place your 2 square pieces of fabric, turning the top layer a quarter turn. Or, wait, that’s an eighth of a turn, right?
Match up the center holes and pin them together.
Then place your cut off shirt together with your circle opening, with right sides together, and pin them together. Sew it together…..just like the tutorial above.
This is the only new part……the belt. All I did was cut a long strip of fabric that was about 6 inches wide and 70 inches long. (Nope, didn’t hem anything at all…..because knit is your friend! However, you can make a tube, turn right side out, etc, if you want. Just adjust your amount of fabric.) I placed the strip across the front of the dress, hiding the seam that attaches the shirt to the skirt portion. (Just be sure to match up the center of the strip with the center of the dress front.) Then, I sort of bunched up the strip a bit, tucking the top and bottom edge under. Then I placed 2 pins along the front of the dress, as if I had split the shirt into thirds.
Then, I sewed a vertical line across the scrunched up belt, securing it to the front of the dress….right where the two pins were. Do the same along both sides of the dress as well.
Also, whatever height you scrunch the belt to at one spot, be sure you scrunch it the same amount at all other locations. For example, my belt width was 6 inches originally bit I scrunched it down to about 2.5 inches and sewed right over the top…….at all 4 spots.
Then, pull the rest of the belt around to the back and tie into a bow.
Done!
-Ashley
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