How To Sew a Simple Skirt or Dress for Your Little Girl

I have been sewing pretty much all of my life. However, when I was younger I didn't do much more than sew on buttons and help my mom out with her sewing projects. Once I became a parent I decided that I wanted to start sewing for my children. Since I started sewing for real I have learned to do several different projects by hand and by machine. My latest project is probably the most simple that I have done yet! I just had to share it with all of you!

While walking through Wal-Mart, I always find myself browsing the fabric and crafts department. On my most recent trip to Wal-Mart I found myself in a different area of town than my usual neighborhood store. So I made a point to check out the fabric and craft area to see if the selection was any different. i was thrilled to find several fabrics that were already smocked at the top. I looked at them and immediately began getting ideas for skirts and dresses for my little girls! I chose a few fabrics and asked the store associate to cut me 2 yards of each fabric. The fabric was not cheap, however, it was also not expensive as fabrics go.

The first thing you need to do is iron the fabric. This insures that there are no wrinkles and the fabric will be aligned properly. After ironing the fabric you are ready to begin!

I started with a skirt for my oldest daughter. I took the pressed fabric and held it up to my daughter. I wrapped the fabric around her waist just the way the skirt would be worn. I then Put a pin in the fabric an inch from where the end of the fabric met. I cut the fabric where it was pinned. Pin the two ends together facing right sides together. By putting right sides together you will have a seam on the inside of the skirt, rather than on the outside. Another way to explain this is that you will be sewing your skirt inside out. Using your sewing machine and a strong thread, sew along the pins making a 1/2 inch seam. Make sure to back stitch at both ends to keep the seam from coming undone. After the first seam is complete trim the excess thread and then press the seam open with your iron. This makes for a very clean looking seam. After you have pressed the seam open, you need to hem the skirt. This length is up to you. For my daughter's skirt, I chose to just go with another 1/2 inch seam. You can make the skirt shorter if you choose and always let the seam out later as your daughter grows taller. Pin all along the bottom of the skirt and sew the hem up. Once again, make sure to back stitch the beginning and end of this seam to prevent the seam coming undone. Press the seam down and turn the skirt right side out. Then your skirt is finished!

To make a dress, you follow all of the same steps as the skirt above, however, you may want to add straps to your dress. This is where it is time to get creative! You can either make straps out of a coordinating fabric, or out of scraps from this fabric. You could also make straps from Ric Rac or ribbon. I chose to use ribbon. I used two long strips of ribbon. I sewed them to either side of the wrong side of the front of the dress. Instead of sewing them to the back of the dress as well, I decided to just tie the ribbon straps in the back, to make this a halter style dress for my younger daughter.

You can get really creative with this project as well. You could put bows, buttons, appliques or trim to the dress for an added touch!

For a step by step photo instruction to follow this project please click here.

This is an adorable addition to any little girls wardrobe and the fabric choices are adorable! I plan to make even more of these for my daughters' and I hope the little girl in your life loves them as much as mine do!