(these are found at old navy..banana republic, children’s place, the gap and jcrew)
and then I did find some white ones i liked….
but didn’t have an extra $200 to buy them.
dear j. crew. do you have any kids? do you know how long a 200 dollar white dress will stay white?
about the same amount of time a $10 white dress would. sincerely, a real mom.
i connected the top and the sides..(see the pins) and now…her’s another advantage of ruffle fabric…no fraying. that’s right. i did not finish around the collar or the arm holes!
I took a big huge rectangle for the bottom..ran a large stitch (without backstitching) and then pulled it to gather it (and are you ready for the awesomeness of ruffle fabric number 3…it gathers so easy…best material)
then i pinned the bottom to the top
a word of advice: when sewing with ruffle fabric…you have to make sure all the ruffles are pointing in the same direction…
I took some satin fabric…and added it around the middle over the seam
I also made some satin binding around the collar…and a big satin bow….
for the back: I only sewed about 8 inches down…
then i took some white cotton fabric…and made a tube…(make sure it’s a little bit shorter than the dress)
then i took some tulle (it’s stiffer than normal tulle) cut off a 14 in piece (this is doubled)
folded it over
and added a loose stitch and gathered it…
then i just sewed it onto the cotton…
i added a few more layers and cut the tulle a little bit shorter each time..
I added some elastic and sewed it onto the dress…
oh..and i might have forgotten to mention that i made some flowers and ahem…hot glued them to the dress…..
you betcha that i told everyone i sewed all those ruffles on by hand.
Kellie says
WOW WOW WOW the dress looks amazing, wow! And your daughter looks cute to boot in it! Wish I could sew like that. xx
Kimberly says
I love the dress! I was in the same boat a few weeks ago, but didn't even think about my ruffle fabric stash. We ended up using a thrifted linen dress that I stitched up the armholes to fit. Congrats on your daughter's baptism.
Tonia @ TheGunnySack.com says
Congratulations on your daughter's baptism! She look adorable and I LOVE the dress!!
Vanessa says
Love the dress! You did an awesome job!
Vanessa
Cherish says
That dress is gorgeous!!! Your tutorial made it seem so simple. Yet I think you may have down played your skill a bit.
Congrats to your daughter on her baptism!
jane says
that looks awesome! what a great idea 🙂 you're so clever 🙂
Mandy @ Sugar Bee Crafts says
now THAT's a baptism dress! I'm thinking ruffles for my daughter next year….
so, did she actually get baptized in it?? that seems to be the great debate – growing up, I (and everyone) got baptized IN their dress, and now it's that most girls don't……
Jacque says
Will you make my daughters one for their baptisms, when they get old enough!?! You did an amazing job at making this. I can't believe you did it without a pattern. If that was me, I would have definitely messed it all up. Good job, and tell your daughter congratulations on her baptism! 🙂
Sandie says
So beautiful. You did a great job.
Amber @ Quilted Euphoria says
You did a gorgeous job! It turned out beautiful! 🙂 The dress aint bad either! 🙂
Nicole says
Impressive! Her dress is gorgeous, and she looks so beautiful 🙂
Blessings!
Nicole
Craftysoccermom.blogspot.com
CMT says
Wow that is sooo impressive! Well done!
Kimbo West @ a girl and a glue gun says
okay…no she didn't get baptized in her dress…she wanted to wear it the whole day so we opted for the jumpsuit.
to katie..i can't find your facebook page! i wanna see! send me a link!
sherry: more expensive yes… awesome yes. I know the time and effort (plus money to for the fabric) to make each ruffles would exceed the cost of just buying ruffle fabric….but then again..i'm lazy) i wasn't making it to save money (although there was NO way i was spending 200) i was making it cause it was such a special day and i really wanted her to have an extra special dress!
thanks for all your sweet comments!!!!!!
Kim @ seven thirty three says
I love how you are able to create things without patterns and just flying by the seat of your pants. It is the same way I am and to see you pull off this awesomeness means so could I! 🙂
Samantha says
That dress is gorgeous! You did a wonderful job, as always!
Angie says
Awesome! You did a fantastic job!
My sil does custom designed gowns (even did her neices bridal gown and it totally rocked with a feather train!) She made my nephew's from my moms wedding gown.
Brigg and Dianne says
LOVE this! My daughter will be 8 and will be baptized in December, and I am with you on pricey white dresses. When the Easter stuff was out, I found an all white dress at Ross for $15, and my mother-in-law is knitting a cute white jacket to go with it. So I planned ahead, but I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE what you did for your little girl!
Amie {Kitty Cats and Airplanes} says
Hot dang girl. Blow that up my size and I would have picked that as my wedding dress. No lies here.
And congrats on her baptism, what a wonderful choice she made!
I'm gonna second Mandy's question, I got baptized in a jump suit but lots of girls are in their dresses.
Sherry says
The dress is absolutley beautiful! I have looked on their website several times but at 14-18 bucks a yard and you got a yard and a half … is paying $30 for a dress you still had to make worth it? I try not to be too cheap but I have really been wanting to make my 11 month old a ruffled romper for her 1 yr old bday party yet cant find it in me to pay that much for fabric.
Messy Roost says
That was amazing. You always do something that just wow's me. I have a sewing machine and I have always been afraid to mess somehting up. After seeing this, I am gonna try. So thanks for the inspiration.
Rhonda @ The Messy Roost
Katie says
hey kim, my daughter is getting baptized too and i made her dress similar to yours only the ruffles i did my self as i have a surger. i jsut had to add selves to mine. if you want to check my out go to my facebook page. treasureskatie. my daughter want a red sash. i had to add extra lining as it was to thin. great job on yours. and i agree 200 dollars is way to much and it better be made of gold.
Lyss says
It turned out so pretty! I love her cheesy little grin in the last photo.
Kylie Ofiu aka Aspiring Millionaire says
I love the dress! I made our daughters dress when she was blessed as we just didn't have the money but I loved it so much. I want to make their baptism dresses when they are old enough too!
This one is so much prettier than any dress you could have bought. And no way would I spend $200 on a dress for a kid, especially a white one! lol.
ps. so cool to see you are LDS as well. 🙂
Mary Beth says
The dress you created for your daughter is so much prettier than any of the dresses you could have bought…just beautiful!
Superjaxster says
Wow Kimbo – what an awesome dress!! Your daughter looks so grown up in it! Congrats on her baptism 🙂
Amy @MoMomma says
This turned out beautiful. I think its great to see you use real examples and then create one that worked for you when you couldn't find what you needed.
Caroline says
I am not getting baptized, but I am getting married. I almost want to make myself a wedding dress from that ruffle fabric. Not sure I could pull it off, but it may just be worth trying.
Anonymous says
We baptized our 9 year old daughter last easter at easter vigil and dressed her in the traditional white,poofy,top of the knees,baptism dress with a matching bonnet,lace anklets and white shoes.i made her cloth baptismal diaper from sewing infant diapers together to make one diaper out of them.i then bought some pink lace and glued 6 rows of the lace across the back of her rubberpants to make them look cute.she made her first communion a month later and wanted to wear the diaper and rubberpants under her communion dress as well so i put them on her again.