Pillowcase Dress

 Pillowcase dresses have been everywhere, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon.  I guess this isn't technically a pillowcase dress b/c this isn't a pillow case, but I used the same basic techniques, and it was really easy to throw this dress together.  My friends are currently producing little girls, and so I'm getting a lot of opportunities to try out dress patterns.  I'll be revisiting this one at some point the future.  And when I do....here's a little reminder to 'self' on this simple process.
I couldn't find a pillowcase I really liked, but I found some fabric and I cut out my own pillow case shape from the fabric.  I think this is smaller than a standard pillow, but it's for a 2 year old, so....I cut it 18 inches wide, and 20 inches long. 

 I turned it inside out and sewed up the sides. 

 I then folded up a hem.  Obviously, these steps could be avoided if I had a pillow with these seams already in place. 

 I then cut out an armhole.  I googled it (my drug of choice) and found girls 3-4, armhole should be about 5 inches deep, and 7 inches long, and then cut at an swoop.  If it's too deep, my receipient can wear a tshirt underneath...or if it's winter. 

 I then folded down the top on both sides about 1/4 inch. 

 I folded it down again about 1/2 inch deep (big enough for my 3/8 inch elastic to thread through later). 

 I then took some contrasting fabric to create a binding for the arm holes.  (This was about 2 inches originally).

 I folded both sides in to create a clean edge (think binding, you could just iron it down, but I sewed it down b/c...well, I guess I'm a little overeager with the sewing machine. 

 I pinned this around both arm holes and sewed it into place to cover the rough edge of the sleeves. 

 I then took 2 pieces of 8 inch elastic pieces (3/8 inch), and 4 pieces of ribbon that were about a foot each. 

 I sewed the ribbon to each side of the elastic. 

 I threaded it through the top of the dress on the front and back.  I sewed the edge of each side of the dress to keep it from slipping around. 

 Front finished, the second piece is for the back. 

 

Tie the ribbons on both shoulders and mark this dress off the to do list.....