12.11.2009

Old Things Made New : Vintage Pillowcases=Dress


As many of you know I am currently pregnant with my first baby and we are having a little girl. I have found that I LOVE sewing for little girls and plan on making most of her clothes, at least for the first year.
One thing that I love about sewing for a baby is that it takes so little fabric. One thing that I have been finding myself doing a lot recently is scowering the thrift stores for vintage sheets/pillowcases and even large skirts etc... that I could use as fabric to make something for a baby. The other day I found this awesome vintage pillowcase for a dollar and found that it was the perfect amount of fabric to make a little baby dress.
I used New Look 6576 to make a simple baby jumper and it was perfect. I followed Leslie's suggestions for making a full lining instead of a half lining which turned out great. For that I used 3/4 of a yard of some old gingham that my mother had stashed away for the last 2o years. I think the most expensive part of the whole dress was the buttons. All in all the dress cost about $2.50 and took about an hour to make. I am very happy with the results and can't wait to whip up a few more with the remaining vintage sheet fabric that I bought.

Here is a picture of the finished dress. Unfortunately I didn't take a pic of the pillowcase before I cut it out, but you get the idea right?

8 comments:

  1. Very cute! The flower placement on the straps is very nice.

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  2. I made a LOT of these for my little girls. They work in all seasons! In fact, I lived without electricity for a few years and used to sew these by hand. This one looks great; the gingham complements the outer layer perfectly :-)

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  3. adorable jumper! lately, i've been going to thrift stores too trying to find clothes that i can either alter or use as material for my neverending list of sewing projects. i'm addicted!

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  4. How funny - I just made something similar on my blog this week, except I couldn't find a pattern, so I made my own. Making it fully lined/reversible is my big thing too-much more versatile that way.

    http://sewcando.blogspot.com/2009/12/looking-sweet-on-cheap.html

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  5. Oh Kelli!!!! I did not know about your wonderful addition!!! That dress is lovely. All she'll need is a cute, ruffly little bottom to peek out.

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  6. I love it! That fabric is just beautiful. I always do a full lining when I make little dresses like that. Its actually much easier that way.

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  7. Kelli! Congratulations! When are you due? That jumper is so cute - I love the fabric. I inherited some "vintage" fabric from Jon's grandmother who is 95. It's so great to use it! Also, there is a book called Sewing Green (I think) that also has a pillowcase dress pattern in it -

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  8. This is still one of my favorite patterns. I've made one for Lauren in every size. So easy, but really cute

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