My first dress!!
 

I made my little girls first dress tonight. Its not finished, but I wanted to see how it looks on her and make a few adjustments, so I went ahead and snapped a few pics.

I made this out of a pillowcase that I had left from my grandma when she passed away. Allie is now going to wear it lol.

http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/...3/b8086c1e.jpg
http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/...3/f6537c15.jpg
http://i1199.photobucket.com/albums/...3/7cad5a1e.jpg


Not bad for my first try. :)

I'll be making Noah a matching vest tomorrow!

very cute :)

Wow you did a great job!! :thumbup:It's really cute! I can't wait for pictures of it when it's complete!! So, you have a hidden talent huh!? :p I will have to try...I have a feeling it's going to be a disaster...hehe do you sew a lot? Was it really hard? Any tips? ;)

I used to sew, but never anything elaborate, mostly curtains and stuff with a straight seam lol. Just be patient. Start off with material you don't mind goofing up on ( remnants) and go slow. Measure your dog and write it down! I measured neck, chest, stomach and length (neck to tail). I drew out a basic image then came up with a pattern and tweaked it, using Allie as my guide.
I looked at other clothes, stuff I had already bought and lots of Internet sites for ideas.

I have a feeling Noahs will be harder since he's so small. But it's fun trying, and now I have a million ideas running through my head.

That little dress is so cute. You did a good job and Allie will be wearing a keepsake in your grandma's pillow case:) I never throw out scraps of any type fabric and make 90% of Jada and Bogie's clothes. It is fun to come up with ideas and you aren't really out much but your time invested :p I can't wait to see the finished product:)

ps...Allie is adorable

Allie is a sweetheart! This dress is adorable! You did a terrific job and I love that is from Grammy's pillow case. What a wonderful idea and keepsake. I'll be looking for finished product pictures :)

Sooo Cute!! :)

Adorable great job!!!

Great job!! I have no sewing talents....hidden or not :(

Nice job! Turned out very pretty...love the little flowers.

What a great idea. Good job, its very cute.

awww thats such a sweet dress, well done

awwww....Allie is being such a great pretty little model. I love the dress. The rosettes really look nice with the stripes. You've done a great job!:thumbup:

Great job on Allie's dress...she's adorable :)

I love it!! I modified a pattern I found online for Kizzie's 4th of July dress, did you have a pattern you followed or did you just wing it and figure it out?

I found that for me if I use fuse-able webbing between the layers at least around the straps it is a lot easier to sew so it lays perfectly flat as well as holds it's shape better when it's on.

Here's Kizzies dress.. as you can see she's a wee lil pup so it's not as elaborate as yours with the poof at the back, I love that btw..

very pretty.love the flower embellishments. good job!

I think Kizzie is adorable. I posted pictures of the vest also that I made Noah. He's about kizzies size. I had a few pictures and kind of made my own pattern, adjusting as I went. It's so much fun, and I'm saving my husband a ton of money lol.

Great job, adorable!

Awww I love that you did it on your own and that her first dress has such sentimental value from your grandmother!!!!!! Great job!!!!!!

What brand of fusible webbing do you use? I really need to give DIY a shot...:D

there are a couple different ones I've tried...

1) the fusible ribbon meant for hemming pants or curtains.
Because Kizzie is so small all I did was apply a strip around the edges and it covers a good portion of her harness..

2) heat n Bond is really good to use if you want to fuse the whole vest flat not just the edges.

I've seen it done a couple different ways. To make the harness I use 2 different fabrics, sew them pattern side together with a simple straight stitch leaving a little bit open so i can turn it inside out.. When it's inside out I slip the fuse strips in and iron, then I do a fancy stitch around the edges to make it pretty. Fusing the edges make it lay flat for fancy stitches and it stiffens up the fabric so it never puckers or anything when she's wearing it.

Or you can use the heat n bond cut, cut 2 pieces of fabric and heat n bond with the same pattern, Iron and then either hem the edges or use a ribbon or bias tape around them. This makes a stiffer harness so if your dog pulls more it will hold it's shape and add a little support.

a third way to use heat n bond, is cut all 3 pieces, then just do a quick sew around the edges pattern sides together with Fuisible on one or the other outer sides, leave a little bit undone, turn it inside out, tuck the edges in at the part you left undone and iron. it will fuse the layers flat and close the opening.. This doesn't have a visible seam around the edges at all.

I also use iron on velcro, which is super easy and super strong.. the last method takes me about 45 minutes to make from start to finish including cutting the fabric out.

To make it a harness I always put a sturdy double ribbon or belt like material down the back of the harness to help with support and hold the D ring, I've seen people just sew a little loop with the D ring at either the base of the neck or the end of the vest though and I'm sure that would be super quick and easy.


Good luck with your DIY projects! Hope this helps give you some ideas :)