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Candy Corn Pillowcase Dress

Candy Corn Pillowcase Dress - {The Ribbon Retreat Blog}

Okay, I love pillowcase dresses!  I also love to dress my little girl up for holidays.  Not just on the holiday, the WHOLE month! So with it being almost half way through October… where did the time go?  I really had to whip this dress up fast so my little one could wear it for the next 19 days straight!

Here’s the problem.  In my haste I didn’t check which order the colors were supposed to be in.  I didn’t really give it much thought because it looked like a candy corn to me.  You can only imagine my devastation when I realized I had mixed up the orange and yellow!  The sadness!

My daughter does look so cute in it so all is not lost.  But if you make this please learn from my mistake!  The color pattern is white ORANGE yellow.  Am I the only one on this planet who didn’t know this?  I feel all alone in my ignorance!

Moving on… I’m over it now. Whew!

The Fabric I used for this dress all came from the Bella Solids line.  I used Snow So Fine Thread.

–Supplies–

Fabric ( I used less than 1/4 yard of each color for my 16 month old)
Thread
3/8″ Elastic
3/8″ White Grosgrain Ribbon
Vanishing Marker
White 1/2″ Double Fold bias tape
Easy Turner Tool

To get my length measurement for this dress I got a dress out of little one’s closet that fits her perfectly.
From top to bottom the dress was 16″ I added about 3 1/2″ to this measurement to account for the seams, top casing and hem.
My final length measurement was 19 1/2.
Divide that by 3 and you get 6 1/2″ for each strip

For the width I measured around her chest and doubled it.
My final width measurement was 34″.

I cut my entire strip of fabric to 6 1/2″ wide (top to bottom).
Then I cut the length to 34″.

I did this to all 3 colors.

I put my yellow and orange fabric right sides together.

I sewed them together with 1/4 seam.

Then I sewed the white strip to the yellow fabric.  Oh how I wish I could go back in time and switch that around!

I cut my fabric in half so that the dress would have two side seams.

You could cut each strip in half from the start but I thought it might save time doing it after they were sewn.

Now to cut the arm holes.  This is easy!  Don’t be scared.  The only thing that matters is that they are all the same.

First measure an armhole from a shirt that fits your child well.  My daughter’s was 4″ long from seam to seam.  I added 1″ to this to account for the top casing.

With right sides facing out use your vanishing marker to draw a J on one top corner of your fabric.

Use the measurement of the armhole you measured plus at least an inch.

So whatever your child’s armhole measurement was add an inch and make your “J” that long.

Your fabric pieces should be layered on top of each other with wrong sides touching.  Use the “J” that you drew as your pattern to cut through both layers of fabric.

Sorry for the extra line there to confuse you, I cut the line that goes straight up.

After your “J” shape is cut out use it as a pattern for the other side.

So fold both fabric layers over and trace the “J” shape on the other side so they are identical.

Now you should have a little arm hole on each side of both of your pieces of fabric.  In the picture above the right side has bias tape on it already.  In case you were wondering why they look different. 🙂

Open up the bias tape and place the raw edge of your “J” in the tape like a taco. Pin it in place

Sew as close to the edge of the bias tape as possible.

Do this to all four top corners (armholes).

Time to sew the pieces together!

Put your fabric right sides together.   Match the arm openings up and pin in place.

Start sewing right over the bias tape.  It is a little thick, so go slow.  Make sure to backstitch.  Sew the sides completely together.

Do this to both sides.

Now we need to hem the bottom.

Do a 1/4″ double fold around the entire bottom and pin in place.

I used white (Snow) Thread, I like to be able to see the stitching.

Okay, now all we have left is the top!

Do a double fold for your casing.  Leave enough room for your 3/8″ elastic to go through.  Pin in place and sew.  Do this to both sides.

Put the dress aside for a minute while we cut our ribbon and elastic.

Measure your child’s chest length across.  Take 1/2″ away from that measurement and cut 2 pieces of elastic to that length.

Cut 4 pieces of 3/8″ Grosgrain ribbon to at least 12″ each.  Seal the ends with your preferred method.

Sew a ribbon to each side of your elastic.

Almost done!

Put one end of your ribbon in the slot of the Easy Turner Tool. Push The easy turner through your casing until you have your ribbon all the way through. You can also use a safety pin.

Sew the elastic down right at the edge of the casing. This way only the ribbon is seen coming out of the casing and not the elastic.
Stretch the elastic to the other end of the casing and sew it in place at the edge as well.

Repeat to the other side.

Now the ribbon will be able to be tied over the shoulder.

I love how it stretches!  I plan on having her wear this as a top next year as well! 🙂

Option: You do not have to use elastic.  You can make the whole thing ribbon.  If you choose to do it this way don’t sew the ribbon down at the edge of the casing.  Make it extra long so you can tighten it and tie it in a knot (and bow) each time your child wears it.

That’s it!  Done!
Unless you want to make a matching bow!

I made a quick and easy scrap fabric bow.

–Supplies–

French Barrette
Left over scraps

This is how a barrette comes.  To tie the scrap fabric to the barrette you need to take out that little tension bar inside.

Now that you have that out cut some scraps to about 3/8″.
That’s the size I did. You could do any size you wanted!

Tie your fabric scrap in a double knot around the barrette with the knot on top.

Continue this process until the barrette is covered.

Then put the tension bar back in.

Candy Corn Pillowcase Dress - {The Ribbon Retreat Blog}

Candy Corn Pillowcase Dress - {The Ribbon Retreat Blog}

Candy Corn Pillowcase Dress - {The Ribbon Retreat Blog}

I Love to play dress up with my little girl!!  I’ll do it any chance I get for as long as she’ll let me!

I hope you give this a try!  If you don’t want to do the Candy Corn Dress just use one piece of fabric.  How easy would that be!?

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9 Comments

  1. tan
    Posted October 14, 2011 at 12:17 pm | Permalink

    i love pillowcase dresses too.i love how versatile and that your lil one can grow up and still continue to wear them 🙂

  2. Lidy Caldera
    Posted October 15, 2011 at 9:09 am | Permalink

    Cute dress! And you are not alone…I thought your colors were in the right order. It makes sense to me to go from darkest at the bottom to lighter at the top….right? Who knew candy corns did not make sense? 🙂

  3. Posted October 15, 2011 at 10:00 am | Permalink

    It turned out very cute! And you’re not alone in not knowing the order of the colors on candy corn. I didn’t know either! LOL! It looked fine to me!

    Keep up the great work. I love this blog!

  4. Blossom
    Posted October 15, 2011 at 10:01 am | Permalink

    Very cute! I didn’t notice the colors were reversed either, until you mentioned it. I miss the days when my daughter was little enough to just wear whatever I bought, without complaining! She’s 13 now, so those days have been long over. It started when she was in kindergarten, and announced that she would no longer wear “ruffly socks” because they’re for babies, ha, ha!

  5. Posted October 15, 2011 at 11:43 am | Permalink

    Dont fret! I wouldnt have ever realized the colors were reversed:) The dress is so cute..your daughter is adorable! I have instructions on how to make these, but yours makes more sense- thank you for taking a lot if time to share that in detail. I want a sewing machine sooooo bad.

  6. Sherrie Pridemore
    Posted October 15, 2011 at 3:47 pm | Permalink

    Cute cute cute. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this, but will give it a try. Jennifer check and see if there is a freecycle in your area. It’s a yahoo group and is free. It is exactly what it looks like it is. People can requests items and/or list items to give away. You would be amazed at what people give away. Something like a request for a sewing machine may remind someone they have one in that storage closet under the stairs.

    Your post are great. The dress is adorable and really like your idea on a fabric ‘corker’. Isn’t a license to be creative just so much fun?

  7. Posted October 23, 2012 at 8:12 am | Permalink

    This is adorable! Hope it’s okay that I added the project to my Pinterest board and linked to it on my blog.

  8. Posted July 9, 2013 at 11:38 am | Permalink

    My 24 yr old daughter has always been a fan of Candy Corn. Now, she is a new mommy with a 5 month old daughter so it’s only fitting that I make this for her 1st Halloween. Thanks for the instructions & the inspiration…. 🙂

    • The Ribbon Retreat
      Posted July 9, 2013 at 9:07 pm | Permalink

      Hi Dana! What a great idea! Your daughter will love it and your new little one will be beyond yummy. 🙂
      Thanks for your comment! Have a wonderful day!

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