Smock Dress Sewing DIY

Inspired by these two pictures I found online (and partly this tutorial by Annika of The Pineneedle Collective), here's how I made this simple cotton smock dress.

I used about 1.5 yards of a gray knit (pre-washed), and it only took a few hours, since the shape of the dress is very simple and fits very loosely.

To start, I made the body of the shirt using a loose fitting crop top I own for reference, adding a few inches around the edges for seam allowance and adjustments. I traced around where the sleeve seams were to make it a tank top shape, and adjusted the front and back necklines. Since the back piece was cut into two pieces instead of one like the front, I added some width to it, and then sewed the middle seam to connect the two. (I mostly just did this because I laid my fabric out weirdly and it was just easier to cut it in half.)

I then attached the front and back pieces along the sides and shoulders, and then tried it on to adjust the width and length (I find it easier to make it bigger at first and then adjust instead of trying to make it fit from the start in case it's too small).

For the skirt, I cut the widest piece I could from the fabric to about 17 inches (later shortened to about 15 inches since I'm short) and gathered the top edge by sewing a long basting stitch along the top edge and gathering it to match the size of the opening at the bottom of the shirt. I then connected the two ends to make a tube with the top of one opening as the gathered edge.

With the skirt wrong side out and the shirt right side out placed  inside of the skirt, I attached the skirt to the bottom of the shirt using a straight stitch all the way around.

For the sleeves, I used the opening of the armhole as a template for the sleeve, and cut it so that the top of the sleeve was on fold. I first hemmed the edge of the sleeve using a rolled hem, folding it under twice, and then connected the bottom edge to form a tube shape.

To attach the sleeve to the armhole, I matched up the top of the sleeve with the shoulder seam and pinned along the opening, starting and the top and working down the each side towards the armpit area. It's easier to make the sleeve diameter bigger than needed, since my sleeve was slightly too small and I think it would've been easier to have a too large sleeve and then adjust the size down instead of trying to make a small opening match up with a larger one.

I finished the dress off by hemming the neckline in the same way I did on the sleeves, and then hemming the bottom edge by folding it under twice and sewing two straight lines around (sort of like what you see on the bottom of most shirts).

I later added some white lace around the neckline only on the front which I bought at Joann which I sewed on by tucking under the folded neckline.

The Little Red Skater Dress-Sewing DIY

I made this dark red/almost maroon skater dress with a sort of sweetheart neckline out of a soft knit fabric I found at Joann's for only $6/yard (plus that 50% off coupon yay!). I lined the top part of the dress since the fabric was a little see-through. The neckline was inspired by a dress a saw from Forever 21's website, and I loosely based the method for sewing the dress again off of Annika Victoria's circle skirt video. This dress only needs about 1 1/2 yards of a stretchy knit fabric, matching thread, and a few hours!

Inspiration from the black Forever 21 dress in the middle. Other Dresses are from ModCloth/F21.

To make the top of the dress, I traced the shape of another knit dress that I like the fit of onto a piece of paper. From there, I free-handed the neckline (I went for a curvy v-neck/sweetheart neckline that reminds me of one of those fancy brackets now that I think about it } ). I added a little extra width because I made the front in two pieces so I would end up with a seam down the middle (just for aesthetics!).

After cutting out the pattern, I cut two pieces from the fabric (pre-washed) with it and sewed them together down the middle. The knit fabric I was using looked basically the same on both sides, so I didn't bother with trying to be consistent about which side was which, only with the grain of the fabric.

Using the new front piece, I pinned it face down onto the fabric, traced it, then cut around it to make the lining piece. This made it really easy to just carry over to the sewing machine to sew around the edges, excluding the bottom so you can turn it right side out. NOTE: I used white thread because I hadn't gone to the store yet to get matching thread and I already had the fabric and really wanted to start, but you really shouldn't do this.

For the back and its lining, I lightly traced the front piece onto the fabric (folded in half). I didn't have a specific idea in mind when I did this, but I ended up just drawing a deep V for something a little simpler than the front. Again, I pinned, cut, and then sewed along the all the edges except for the bottom.

Red thread has yet to be obtained at this point.

To complete the top, all that was left was to pin the front and back right sides together and then connect the shoulders and sides, making adjustments for fit before moving on.

For the circle skirt, I mostly just used an old knit circle skirt that I made to trace out the shape. (Annika's video shows very well how to make a circle skirt! I essentially did the same thing.)

I hemmed around the edge of the skirt by folding it in about a quarter of an inch as I sewed around (no pinning). Since it's knit, you don't need to fold it in twice (or at all if you're feeling lazy) because the fabric won't fray! I ironed the edges flat after to finish it off.

To make the waistband, I cut out two long rectangles from the fabric (they were about 5 in. x 20 in.). I folded them in half and sewed straight down the longest edge.

Progress check, these are the main components!

You're going to want two pieces about the length of the bottom of the shirt (one for the back and one for the front), and the rest can be used to make the tie for the back. I didn't bother turning the waist part around because I left lazy, but it actually worked in the end since it made the waist band wider than the tie which is helpful when it comes to putting everything together.

 For the ties, I added a diagonal seam at the ends, turned them out, iron them, and then finished it by top stitching the edge where the seams are.

Make the waistband by laying one waist piece down, then placing the two ties down on top of the first band with the edges lines up, and then sandwiching the other band on top. The ties should be centered vertically on the waistband with a little gap above and below it for seam allowances. Sew down the sides to connect the pieces.

Attach the band to the top by laying the shirt right side out inside the waistband (still wrong side out). Pin around the bottom edge of the shirt, making sure the side seams are matched up. In the middle picture you can see that I did this backwards! I didn't realize this until I finished sewing around and had to undo the entire thing :(, so I recommend not doing that.

Lastly, attach the skirt to the bottom of the waistband by laying the shirt right side out inside the skirt (right sides facing together). Pin the skirt evenly around the edges, starting with the side seams, them the middle of the front and back, and then the mid-points between those four pins. Sew around the edges, making sure to not let the band get in the way! (Same goes for the previous part.) This is where having slightly smaller ties helps out a lot.

Turn everything right side out and that's it!

Zip Top Pencil Pouch-DIY

Inspired by Kate From See Kate Sew's knotted zipper pencil pouch tutorial, I made a simplified version of her pencil pouch without the knotted ends. My old pencil pouch has had some holes in it for a while, so I've been long in need of a new one, and this one was very simple easy to make!

I used the remained of a fat quarter of fabric and some scraps of black knit cut from the sleeves of a t shirt. Start off with two rectangles of each the lining and outer fabric, about 9x5 inches in dimension (which can be easily varied depending on the size of the pouch you want).

Cut one of each of the rectangles in half lengthwise so you have a total of 6 rectangles.

Coats & Clark All Purpose Zipper-Joann

I used a 9 inch zipper to go down the middle of the pouch. (I used one of Joann's abundant coupons, although zippers are cheap enough without one, <$3)

To sew the top half of the pouch to the zipper, lay it face down on the outside fabric (top left) and sandwich it with the lining fabric, the zipper should be completely concealed between the two. Sew along the edge as close to the zipper as possible (it will end up looking like the top right picture). Repeat on the other side of the zipper and you'll end up with something like the picture above.

I ironed the fabric flat and did some top stitching to finish off sewing the zipper.

Then sew on the back lining piece to the lining attached to the zipper. You only need to sew down the long sides, making sure to leave an opening on one side for turning it out later (marked by the pins on the left hand side). Make sure the zipper is partially unzipped before sewing the outer pieces together.

Next sew the outside pieces right sides together. I first sewed down the long sides, making sure to only sew the two pieces together. For the shorter sides, sew the lining and the outer fabric together.
Lastly, turn the pouch right side out through the gap left in the lining and the zipper, pushing the corners out with a pen or something similar. Sew up the hole and you're done!

DIY Twisted Headband

Largely inspired by this excellent Say Yes to Hoboken Turban Twisted Scarf tutorial and a Forever 21 elastic headband, I made a twisted headband with an elastic back. I used a fat quarter from Joann's (with leftovers remaining) and 1/2" elastic.

 I folded the fabric in half and free-handed a template to cut out four identical oval shapes.

 Next, I sewed the pieces right sides together with a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving a gap on the side to turn them inside out.

Crossing the two pieces and pinning the ends together. I sewed a small line across each end to connect the folded halves together.

 For the elastic across the back I made a small tube about twice as long as the elastic piece which ended up being about 5 inches (based on rough measurements after seeing how long the rest of the headband was on my head). 

The rectangle measured about 2"by 10".

For the elastic, I used a safety pin to guide the elastic through first. I sewed one end down to the main part of the headband in a triangular shape and did the same to the other side securing the elastic as well.