SEWING: Easy Pleated Summer Dress

Hi Internet!

Recently I purchased some fabrics in the local Markt in Leiden, I got two beautiful flower print fabrics with the idea of making simple easy maxi skirts with them.
Unfortunately when I arrived home I noticed how horrible cut the fabric was and my 1 meter of fabric was completely deformed. 
Pay real attention to too confident fabric cutting ladies, I did not care since both fabrics were very cheap but I had to re-arrange my plans since a long skirt was out of question.

I decided to try-out with a simple dress, the fabric itself is already very pretty there was no need for a very complicated design.

>> Click below for the full tutorial:


You will need:
-1 meter of fabric
-Elastic (for your waist)
-Sewing items

Annoying process on making my fabric even

Pattern:
I won't explain my fabric cutting process, since my fabric was completely uneven I was trying to utilize as much fabric as I could.
But maybe the picture below can help you to understand what I tried to do. 
Imagine the square is my fabric, on the red lines the long stripes I used as my skirt and the remaining one for the bodice.

I patterned a T-shirt I really like, she has a easy design that gives the impression of cap sleeves. See picture below:

Step 1:
Cut out your bodice pattern pieces, front and back. I added my seam allowance while cutting.
You can see I have very little room to cut, you will probably be working with more fabric to spare.

Step 2:
Sew one strip to the other, making it a long piece for the skirt. Set it aside for a while.

Step 3: Sew the bodice together. I  sewn the sides and the shoulder seams.
Do not forget to iron everything flat and run a zigzag stitch if your fabric frays.

I apologize for the quality of the photo and my beautiful paint skills.

Step 4: 
The pleats. Measure the bottom of your bodice and estimate how big your pleats will be. I marked every 5cm and gave each one little slit to mark exactly where to fold.

Step 5: 
Fold the pleats one by one and run a straight stitch across them to secure in place.
Since my fabric was so loose I double stitched it to make sure it would hold.

Step 6: 
Sewn down the remaining side of the skirt and pin it down to the bodice.
Make sure the skirt is the same size of the bodice. If your skirt end up too big just take in on the side seam.
NOTE: On the picture I baste stitched the waist, but ignore it.

Don't do like me, just pin it around.

Step 7:
Cut out a piece of elastic that fits around your waist. And sew it onto the dress.
So there is two ways of making this: The first way is just sew it in the dress stretching it as you go. (picture below). BUT as you can see it looks a mess and I really did not like it, although the dress looks good on the outside, this is the easy way, if you don't care with insides go for it.

The second way is making a case for your elastic into your seam allowance. After crazy seam ripping it I went for this option. I looks much neater but It takes much more time.
What you have to do is sew all the way around your waist and sew another line parallel to the last one leaving a small opening to insert the elastic. When its in you just sew the opening close.

Step 8:

Hem the arms and bottom of the dress with a small rolled hem like the example below.

Step 9:
This step is optional: Top stitch the waist, it gives a better finish to the dress.
Don't forget to stretch the fabric as you go and use a stitch length not too small

And you are done!

In case you notice, I made my neckline bigger than what I had set on my pattern. If you want you can make the dress gathered instead of the pleats, I prefer pleats but that is just my opinion.

Did you like the tutorial?
Leave and comments and questions below
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And see you next time!
Tchau, tchau...