So I decided that my first creative post was to be a dress that I have made over and over and is so easy to make.  This is the most comfortable dress that I have in my closet.  I made several of these for my nieces bridesmaid dresses and every one of them loved them.  The bridesmaids ranged from x-small to x-large and all of them were in heaven.  So here goes.  First things first! You will need about 3.5 yards of 60″ wide knit fabric.  A good quality knit is preferable.  The better the fabric the longer the lasting the dress. Cut out your pattern to the size you are wanting to make.  I used a McCalls pattern #M7348, but I am sure there are others out there that are similar. This pattern seems to run a little big for the size. Lay out your pattern on the fabric and pin into place or use what I used which is pattern weights. Make sure to read the pattern making sure to put the pattern up against the fold and cutting out the right amount (like 2 sleeves).

  

Next take the front and the back of the dress with right sides together pin the shoulders together and sew them together.  In my opinion a serger is a must when sewing clothes especially knit.  If you haven’t tried one yet let this be your first project with one.  A Brother is a good and inexpensive one to start with. Tip – Never, Never, Never, sew over the pins, it will break your cutter. Take them out before it gets to the blade.

Your next step would be to get the collar ready by folding it in half right sides together end to end and pinning it into place.
         

Then folding it in half length wise with wrong sides together pining it first together at the seam and then around the rest of the edge.         

Finish by serging it together.

After you have the collar sewn together it is now time to pin it into place in the dress. This might seem a little tricky but if you just take it slow it will work out.  Start out by placing a pin at the seam in the collar and another one directly across from it and at either side.  So if the collar was a clock and the seam was at the 12 o’clock then you would need a pin at 6 o’clock, 3 o’clock, and 9 o’clock.

Place the collar on the inside of the dress, right sides together. Start pining the collar into the dress starting with the “seam pin” and placing it in the middle of the back panel of the dress.  Place the second pin in the middle of the front and the other two pins near the shoulder seams. The easiest way to pin it even into place is to stretch the collar out inside the neck hole to fit the opening and pin a little at a time.

Sew the collar into place taking it slow and stretching it a little to make it fit the neck line if needed.

Yay!! It is now coming together very nicely. Next step is to set the sleeves into place.  Start at top point of the sleeve and pin it at the seam of the shoulder, right sides together.

And then match up the corners of the sleeve to the corners of the front and back panels.  These corners will make up the armpit of the dress.

 

After the corners are pinned, pin up one side and then the next.

Sew in sleeve being careful to keep the fabric smooth and straight on the underside. Don’t rush and take it slow. Repeat on the next sleeve.

Now the really fun part.  Place the dress inside out or right sides together on a hanger and hang straight.  Pin first the armpit seams together and then down the sleeve.  Then pin down the side of the dress. Repeat on the opposite side. Sew up the sides.

Finish by serging around the bottom of the dress and sleeves. Make sure that you stretch the fabric as you sew.  Once it is all serged then all that there is left to do is to turn under, about a quarter inch, the sleeves and bottom of the dress pining into place, and top stitch.  Your dress is now done!!!

Here is the finished project.  My sister pulled it in with a belt.  Another sister wears hers without.  A great thing about this dress is that you can wear it long like it is here or cut it shorter for a middy dress.  Even a high low style looks great like on my young niece here. I want to thank my sister Heidi for modeling this for me and my other sister and sweet niece for wearing them. They were so much fun to make.