Child's Bandana Dress

 

 

A lot of people are making bandana dresses for their little girls.

The ones I've seen seem out of proportion, too long. My solution was to add a ruffle:

This dress fits my 20-month-old granddaughter perfectly and

 

fits my tiny 8-year-old "bonus" granddaughter as a darling blouse!

Here's how to make one:

STEP ONE
 Choose 2 bandanas the same color and style.
Select about 2 yards of coordinating ribbon, 5/8" to 1 1/2" in width.
Thread your sewing machine with matching or contrasting ribbon.
Heat up your iron.


STEP TWO

Fold over 5 inches at the top of the right side of both bandanas and iron a good crease.
(I prewashed and ironed my bandanas.)


STEP THREE

Stitch all the way across both bandanas to form a casing.

The width of the casing should be just a little wider than the width of your ribbon.

I used a zigzag stitch because I thought it went well with the bandana fabric motif.

 

STEP FOUR

Cut two strips of ribbon the width of the bandana plus about 12 inches. (So that the ribbon extends about 6 inches on each side.) Thread both ribbons through both bandanas.

 

STEP FIVE

Next is a small but very important step: Stitch through both casings at the middle of each bandana. This is so the ribbon doesn't come unthreaded.

 

STEP SIX

Now, all you have left to do is place the bandanas right sides together and sew up both side seams. Leave  5" open from the top for the arm holes. Be careful not to catch the ribbon ends in your seam! Also, be aware that the bandanas are not always exactly the same length. So, make sure you start sewing from the bottom up to the arm hole so that the hems turn out even.

Oh! and one more really fun part: gather up the ribbon and the tie bows over each shoulder!

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Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions?

Happy sewing! I know yours will turn out darling!

I'd love to see what your finished product looks like on your little one!

 

Sorry I couldn't get my models to be more cooperative for a photo shoot:

You get the idea...