This Tiered Ruffle Baby Girl Dress Tutorial is absolutely adorable! It is perfect from babies to little girls and think of all the fabric combinations! Read more to learn how to make this cute dress.
Hi! I’m Amber from Crazy Little Projects. When I saw this Riley Blake fabric at The Ribbon Retreat I absolutely fell in love and knew I needed to make something out of it. I stared at it for a couple of seconds and then it hit me-baby girl dress with lots of layers and ruffles. Because, you know, with 4 little boys I have tons of need for baby girl dresses. (Which is lucky for you since you can win this very dress and matching shoes at the bottom of this post.)
This fabric comes from the line Dress Up Days by Doohikey Designs for Riley Blake from The Ribbon Retreat.
Click the link to see all the cute fabrics in this line!
I know you want to make one of your own!
~ Tiered Ruffle Baby Girl Dress Tutorial ~
What You Need:
3 coordinating fabrics (amount will depend on size of dress you are making – if you are making a baby/toddler size you can probably get away with about 1/2 yard of each. If you are going bigger than that, get more like 1 yard of each.)
Small amount of lining fabric (in coordinating color)
2 Buttons
Here’s How:
First of all, print off the pattern pieces. Right now I have 2 sizes for you – Infant (about 3-6 months) and Toddler (12 month or so). If you need a different size I recommend finding a dress that fits your child currently and use it as a template to create this dress. Simply create a pattern just like the ones I have given you, but size it up to fit your child. I will be adding pattern sizes down the road.
With those pattern pieces, fold your main fabric in half, place the pattern piece on the fold and cut. You will have one piece of the front and one of the back. Then you need to do the same with the lining fabric so that you end up with 4 total pieces of cut fabric to create the top of your dress.
Now, grab the front piece of your dress and the front piece of the lining. Put right sides together and sew all the way around except across the bottom. Do the same with the back pieces. Turn right side out and press nice and flat.
With those 2 pieces that you just created, again, put right sides together and sew together on the sides. Turn the whole thing right side out.
The only other thing you need to do to complete your top is to sew your buttons in. Hand stitch the button in place on each strap and create a button hold on the dress bodice for the button to go through. And you’re done with the top!
To make the body you need to cut 3 long strips of fabric – one of each of your 3 fabrics.
You need to know how long you want your dress to be and then make your strips accordingly.
For the toddler size dress my strips are about 4 inches wide.
To determine the length, first measure your bodice width. (The toddler one is 10.5.”) Then use the following chart to figure out length:
Layer 1: 1.5 x the width of your bodice
Layer 2: 2 x the width of your bodice
Layer 3: 3 x the width of your bodice
Take your first strip, fold it in half and sew the ends together:
Then run a basting stitch along the top end, leaving the thread hanging nice and long at the end. (Do not knot the thread at the start or the finish.)
Gently pull one of the threads to create a gather in your fabric.
Pull and gather until it is the width of your bodice.
Insert the bodice of the dress into the gathered ruffle that you just created so that right sides are touching. Stitch all the way around the dress to sew the ruffle to the bodice top.
Now do the same with layers two and three, stitching them into place on the layer above them.
On the bottom layer sew a hem. Folded 1/4″ and press, then fold a 1/4″ again and press. Then stitch in place.
Turn everything right side out:
And gawk at its cuteness for a minute or two. Don’t you love it?
Now, want to win this adorable little dress and these matching Mary Jane Baby Shoes?
We’re giving away one 12 month size. Enter now:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thank you Amber for sharing your beautiful Tiered Ruffle Baby Girl Dress Tutorial and for giving one away! This dress is so cute with that fabric, I am sure one of your little girls will love wearing it!
Entering is easy, so make sure to enter, even if you don’t have a little girl, this dress would make a wonderful gift!
If you are looking for the cutest fabric to make your own dress, be sure to check out The Ribbon Retreat’s awesome selection of beautiful fabrics. Click the link to browse.
Amber has the best tutorials and her instructions are so simple to create beautiful projects. Check her out on Crazy Little Projects by clicking the link. You will go crazy pinning all her fun stuff over there! (Trust me, I was over there for not even a minute and pinned a ton!)
If you are interested in sharing your crafts or bow making skills, we are searching for crafty contributors. If you’re a craft blogger or bow maker who’d like to submit a tutorial of your own, visit our Project Submission Page to see all the details. We love all tutorials, and now especially love holiday ones! We make it worth your while! We love our contributors!
Have a great day! ~ Shirley, The Ribbon Retreat Blog Editor
38 Comments
Would love to win the dress, but will make another one anyway!
The mary jane Shoes pattern has come just in time! I have these blanket ‘babies’ that I make and was looking for a shoe pattern to make rather than buying booties. thanks so much. I can’t wait to get some made.
this is fantastic so cute and great tutorial thank you
I am due in 5 weeks but we don’t know what we are having! If it is a girl, I will definitely be doing this! Thanks for sharing!
This is such a great pattern! Thanks for sharing!! I can’t wait to make one!
So cute! I love the matching shoes!
I really like the ruffle tiered dress and the fabric shoes to match.
Great to see how the shoes and dress are constructed. Hope to
win the drawing!
I think the Mary Jane shoes are sooo cute. I can’t wait to make some.
Such a cute dress!
I love this little dress! My princess would look so adorable in it.
Great tutorial! I love the dress, and the Riley Blake fabrics are perfect for it! My best friend just had a gorgeous baby girl in May. I will have to make this for her in the 12 mos size for next summer
Thank you for sharing.
cute and easy…thanks for sharing
Love your tutorials and your amazing blog!
Just perfect for my new granddaughter!
I love this tutorial. Very easy, and I’m not a sewer. I would love to win this.
I love this pretty dress and love the ribbon retreat!
I love this dress so cute, maybe my niece will have a girl so I can make this.
Love your tutorials. I have 2 girls, 3 years old and 2 months old and love making cute little things for them!!!
Such a beautiful little dress. Love it!
Thank you for the tutorial!
This is utterly adorable!
i love all your tutorials and with a new baby girl i’m having all kinds of fun making her pretty things.
Too cute! Cant wait to give it a go!
Oh, If i won I’d make this for my granddaughters! I love it and all the new fabrics! I’d buy way too much fabric but how can I not?
I am a new fan!
What an adorable dress!!
that dress is super cute! love the fabric!
Congrats on your girl!! You are going to have lots and lots of fun! – Shirley
Thank you Jena! – Shirley
I love your blog and all of the great tutorials!
Love this site! Great tutorials and awesome selection of ribbon and fabric!
So cute!! I am definitely going to have to make one for my baby girl. Thanks for sharing! I would never have imagined it was this easy to make!
This is soo adorable! My daughters love theses kind of dresses!
Great tutorial! This dress is adorable. I am having my first girl (after having 2 boys), and I get so excited to see ruffles and colors other than BLUE!!! So cute and fun!!!
This little dress is another adorable project. And even better, in my favorite color. Sadly, not in my size however. LOL BUT, my Granddaughter will soon be in this size and would be adorable in it so I’ll cross my fingers.
cute! and with a long sleeve tee and leggings/tights,. completely do-able as year round! imagine with more adult-ish fabrics and boots, too! GAH! Can’t wait!
I would love to win! My baby girl would look so cute in this dress!!
Such a wonderful tutorial.