DIY Gray Patterned Baby Girl Dress

Although it's been a bit quiet here on the blog this month, I've been busy sewing in the background on a variety of new projects. Earlier this month, you saw the DIY dog blanket and since then I've made two more DIYs that are not burlap related but rather baby related. Over the weekend, I sewed two versions of this sleeveless baby dress to give as baby gifts. I've sewed this dress once before for one of my nieces several years ago, and it's a quick project that finishes as a very sweet and cute baby dress that can be customized with piping detail, bias tape, lace, buttons, etc.

For this specific dress, I choose a cotton fabric with a base gray color and printed white, pink, and yellow flowers.  I selected a bright yellow cotton fabric for the interior lining, which I also used to create the piping detail. This was my first try at creating my own piping rather than buying it pre-made, and I was surprised by how easy it was to make. I thought it would end up being more effort and time than it was worth, but it was actually pretty quick and as a result, matches the lining fabric color exactly.  I chose not to adventure down the path of making my own bias tape to trim the bottom hem. Instead, I just used a straight stitch and folded it over twice to give it a nice, neat line.

The pattern I used for this can be found here. I edited the pattern in a few ways: I added a half inch to the pattern to make it for a 3-6 month old, I overlapped the straps rather than tying them, and I used a button and button hole to open/close the straps so the dress can fit over a baby's head easier.

I realize that I risk ruining the surprise when I give this gift away if that person sees it posted here, but I plan on making a few more so it will still be a surprise! This again is one of those faster projects that took me about two evenings to complete from start to finish. It's not a one hour project, but it's short enough to still have that instant gratification feel when you have this adorable and professional looking lined baby dress in the end. 

Keep on creating!

Erica