Finished Project - Pillowcase Dresses

I’ve actually managed to be quite productive throughout the move period, mainly because I’m so excited about my new sewing area I keep sorting through fabrics and patterns rather than actually sorting out the flat! When packing I also managed to find my reel of bias tape, which went walkabouts and was preventing me finishing my pillowcase dresses project (I was in desperate need of a designated sewing area to prevent things like this happening!). But voila! The three completed dresses which will soon be winging their way to Dress a Girl Around the World in America and then on to hopefully put a smile on a few little girls faces somewhere else in the world. I have the combined pride of making something from scratch and the good feeling that it’s not another something to add to my ever growing collection of pretty things but is to go to someone who doesn’t have a single pretty thing and may not again.

The dresses were very easy to make, even when constructing the dresses from scratch with printed cottons rather than using the suggested pillowcases. They were also surprisingly quick to pull together (discounting the search for the bias tape!). The longest part of the construction process was pinning on the bias tape straps, though this wasn’t as fiddly as I expected and I think this would be dramatically quicker next time as this was my first time binding edges. I’m loving how tidy it makes my messy edges look and I can’t wait to try out some bound seams now.

I’m very proud of my finished product and am quite tempted to add on a couple of pockets or some braid trim to them before I send them off. I really do urge more of the sewing blog world to make even one of these dresses; I think it’s a fantastic way to bring a little light into the world where there may not be much. See the Dress a Girl Around the World website for all the information you need.