The Patriotic Dress and Hair Bow

I made this dress out of an actual pillowcase purchased from a thrift store. It was my first attempt at a pillowcase dress (months ago), but when I finished it was too big for my daughter. I recently dug it back out, and embellished it with these bows I found at the dollar store. The hair bow is cut from a bandanna, and  wrapped with a red and white striped ribbon. I decided to take pictures now, because who knows if it will still fit her come July 4th.

The Pillow Case Dress

Probably one of the easiest projects for a beginner. You can use an actual pillow case, or two coordinating fabrics. I really wanted to use the circle appliques and buttons to match my multicolored fabric (bottom strip), so I paired it with this orange fabric cut from an old bed sheet. Poor Macy was teething, but she still let me dress her up and take pictures.

This is the tutorial I used:

Pillow Case Dress Tutorial

Ashley does a great job of explaining and taking pictures along the way. Plus she has an adorable model showing off the finished project! So cute.

The Bed Skirt Skirt and the Valance Skirt

The Bed Skirt Skirt:

No, I am not stuttering! I just don't know what else to call it. I made a skirt from a thrift store bed skirt. Not a fan of the name "dust ruffle". Since I am just cutting my teeth on this sewing adventure, I thought I would start with simple projects... (you know, where most of the sewing is already done for me). I think it came out pretty cute, but it has issues. The first issue is that my daughter must have gotten bigger in the day it took me to finish it, because I did the whole "measure twice-cut once" thing. (Okay, so maybe she didn't get bigger, but that is my excuse.) I tried to put in an invisible zipper, and I even watched three different tutorials on You Tube, but my zipper is kinda sorta visible. For the most part though, I am pretty happy with the results. Bed skirts have a ton of fabric, so you get a lot of bang for your buck (or fifty cents). Got that tip from my Aunt Patty.

The Valance Skirt:

This started out as a thrift store valance. I love gingham! I added a little peek-a-boo ruffle underneath using a bed skirt (I also found at the thrift store). It was very simple, because I just threaded the elastic through the slot that was sewn for the curtain rod. To me it still has the look of a curtain, but I think Macy can make any outfit seem haute couture! Yes, I do wear mom goggles.