Tutorial Tuesday: Pillow Case Dresses

I'm aching for summer here in my Idaho cold weather, and have seen these pillow case dresses around and think they are the cutest! I don't have girls in my household, so I live vicariously. I have seen these worn both as dresses and as shirts once they become a tad too short. SO DARLING! This tutorial is for an older girls dress, but it shouldn't be too hard to adjust for a smaller size. Enjoy!

Materials for one dress (fits 6-10 year old):
-vintage pillow case (cases with detailing or lace on the open side lend interest to hemline)
-matching thread
-seam ripper
-twill tape or grosgrain ribbon



Instructions:
1. Cut neckline: pillow case's opening becomes dress bottom.... cut along the closed seam at top, to open for neckline.
2. Cut armholes: lay pillow case flat and mark measurement with a pencil for a diagonal cut. First mark 2 inches from side seam towards the neckline on both sides. Next mark 3 inches from top of side seam down each side. Use a ruler to connect your marks on both sides and cut out triangles.
3. Fold over armhole's raw edge 2x. Pin. Sew.
4. Fold over neckline 2x (creating a channel wide enough for ribbon). Pin and sew.

5. Feed ribbon through front and back neckline and adjust to fit on child. Sew ends of ribbon together, cut excess and pull into the channel (no ribbon ends visible). Gather.
6. Depending on the style of pillow case and size of child, you may want to add slits on the bottom sides, as I did.