Baby dresscut & sew tutorial

by

© ‘zesti - ine Beerten

back panel of the dress

front panel of the dress

back inside panel of the dress

front inside panel of the dress

© ‘zesti - ine Beerten

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What you need

1 front and back panel of the baby dress

2 front and back inside panel of the baby dress

3 ‘zesti label* (or your own label if you have one)

4 2 velcro strips of 4cm x 1,2cm (1.5” x 0.45”)

5 thread in the colours of the fabric

6 pins

7 scissors

8 iron & ironing board

9 sewing machine

Before we start, let me just thank you once more for buying my

baby dress cut & sew pattern. This is the first time I’m making

a tutorial like this, my sewing vocabulary is kind of limited

especially since English is not my native language, so please

bear with me. If you find anything unclear, or have suggestions

to improve the tutorial please feel free to contact me at

info@zesti.be

tutorial

Step 1Iron the pleats in the front and back panel of the dress. I

always do this before I start sewing, because it’s easier to iron

the pleats now than after you sew the sides.

* mini tutorial for sewing the ‘zesti label at end of the baby dress tutorial

© ‘zesti - ine Beerten- 1-

Step 2Place the front panel on the back panel so the sides align and pin together (printed side

of the fabric on the inside). Sew the sides. I always use a seam allowance the half the width of my sewing machine foot (7mm), so it’s easy to simple align the side of the

fabric with my foot. To prevent the fabric from unraveling it’s best to also use a zigzag

stitch or use a serger if you have one. After sewing the side seams, press them flat.

Step 4Top stitch the pleats. And then pin the pleats together at

about 10cm (4”) below the neckline. Make sure the print

lines up perfectly.

Step 3Iron the hemline about 2,5cm (1”) from the bottom. Zigzag stitch.

Pin the hemline and sew it.

© ‘zesti - ine Beerten- 2 -

Step 5Sew the pleats together. You can do this by using the

button hole stitch or a very small zigzag stitch for about

2cm across the pleats. Do this on both the front and the

back panel.

Step 6Next we’re going to pin the sides of the

inside parts of the dress together and sew

and zigzag them. Make sure the printed

side of the fabric is on the inside.

After sewing the sides zigzag the hemline.

Step 7Time to attach the velcro strips. If you want to use buttons

you can attach them at a later stage when the dress is ready.

I usually add the soft (loop) side of the velcro to the back of

the dress, and the hard (hook) side of the velcro to the front

of the inside of the dress (hope that makes any sense).

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Step 8First pin together the top of the pleats at the neckline. Next

pin the inside of the dress to the outside. Sew the neckline.

Zigzag if you like, I usually don’t do it here.

Step 9Next cut of corners and snip fabric in the curves. Turn inside out.

Use a pointy but non-sharp utensil to pull out the corners (I use

a bookbinding bone tool, don’t use scissors, you could cut the

fabric). Then iron the fabric flat. And top stitch the neckline.

Step 10Almost done now, we only need to do one

more thing after tops stitching the neckline

and that’s to secure the inside of the dress

by sewing for about 5 cm (2”) right below

the armpit on top of the side seam. Do this

on both sides.

And now we’re ready! Woohoo!

© ‘zesti - ine Beerten- 4 -

‘zeSti label tutorial

Fold label fabric double. Sew both sides. Cut of corners and

turn inside out! Voila, ready to use!

© ‘zesti - ine Beerten