Easiest Pillowcase Dress Ever
May 10, 2011
There’s something about warm weather that brings out the pillowcase dresses in droves. And I’m no exception!! A few years ago I stumbled across the easiest tutorial I’ve ever seen for these popular dresses and since I can’t find the source again (if anyone knows who it belongs to, please let me know!), I’m making my own tutorial. I’ve been asked several times lately how I make them, so I figured it was time to share!
The measurements for this dress are a 2T/3T, but it’s really easy to measure for any size. Determine the finished length you want, for me it was 20″, then add 4″ to it for seam allowances. The width of the fabric is the width we’re using. So lay out your fabric and cut to your desired length.
Make sure your selvages match up,
then cut the fabric in half up the side.
Take both pieces to the ironing board and fold the side over 1/3″-ish. I don’t measure, I just fold. Iron it down.
Then fold it over again and iron.
Repeat for the other side, and both sides on the other piece.
Then sew all 4 sides at 1/4″ seam allowance.
Next, make the casing for your ribbon. The size of the casing will depend on the width of the ribbon you use. My ribbon is 5/8″ so I’m making a 1″ casing. I like to have extra room around the ribbon, and a little extra room for my seam.
So fold the fabric down 1″ and iron.
Fold down again and iron.
Repeat for the other side.
Stitch them both down along the bottom of the casing.
Now put right sides together, and measure down from the top of the casing 6″. If you’re making a bigger dress, you’ll want to measure down further. This is your arm hole. If you’re unsure how big to make it, measure a tshirt in their current size. Don’t use a fitted knit shirt, but a tshirt, to allow for wiggle room.
I pin the pieces together at my 6″ mark for reference.
Then starting at the pin, sew just inside the previous seam (for me this is 3/8″), to the bottom of the dress. Repeat on both sides.
Open the seam and iron it flat on each side.
Now to hem the dress. Fold up from the bottom 1″ and iron.
Fold up another inch and iron again.
Sew the hem down.
For the ribbon, I use a piece on each side and I make it twice as long as the dress is wide.
Attach a safety pin to the end and feed the ribbon through the casing.
I fold the dress in half and make sure the ribbon sticks out equally on each side.
Then I pinch it in the middle to make a little crease.
And use that as a guide to sew a little seam in the middle of the casing to hold the ribbon in place.
Repeat on the other side and you’re done!! Heat seal the ends of the ribbon to prevent fraying. To do this, hold the ribbon near, but not in, a flame. It’ll melt the end and seal it off.
Sofie adores pillowcase dresses in the summer.
They’re light and airy, and completely adorable! I love that they’re quick to make, and grow with my girls. When it becomes too short for a dress, couple with shorts for a darling summer top. And if you can’t bear to pack it away, toss a long sleeve shirt on underneath for year-round wear!
Now she’s the perfect combo of style and sass!
Posted in 
May 18th, 2011 at 12:11 PM
Thank you for this tutorial! Excited to try it out. What would be the length and width measurements of a size 4T?
May 19th, 2011 at 5:51 PM
It depends on the size of the child. The width should be fine, just adjust the length. Find the final length you want to use, and add 4″ when cutting your fabric. 2″ will be in the casing at the top, and 2″ will be in the hem at the bottom. Good luck!
May 25th, 2011 at 12:53 PM
For some foggy reason, I’m not understanding what the width of the fabric is. Your title says it is a pillowcase dress, but you aren’t using a pillowcase… so I guess that is just the cute name. When you say “the wideth of the fabric is the width we are using” do you actually mean… the width is the same as the length? In this case… 20″? Thanks…. I want to attempt to make one of these cute dresses for my niece.
“The measurements for this dress are a 2T/3T, but it’s really easy to measure for any size. Determine the finished length you want, for me it was 20″, then add 4″ to it for seam allowances. The width of the fabric is the width we’re using. So lay out your fabric and cut to your desired length.”
May 25th, 2011 at 2:52 PM
Hi Cindy, thanks for the questions.
First, while pillowcase dresses are traditionally made from pillowcases, most these days are not. There are a lot more fabric options than pillowcase options, so there are a variety of tutorials around for how to make them out of fabric. This is the easiest way I’ve seen it done.
In sewing, fabric comes in 2 widths, 45 inches and 60 inches, measured from selvage to selvage, then folded in half and wound around the bolt. For example, when you get 1 yard of fabric, it’s 36″ long by either 45 or 60 inches wide. Most cotton fabric like the one I used is 45″ wide. So the fabric is 45″ wide, then I cut it in half to get 2 equal pieces for the front and back, making each piece approximately 22″ wide. Since I wanted a finished length of 20 inches long, I needed to add 4″ for my casing at the top and hem at the bottom, so my pieces are 24″ long by 22″ wide. Does that make sense? For most kids, 22″ wide will be plenty wide enough for a dress, it’s just the length you need to adjust.
I hope that answers your questions! Please don’t hesitate to ask if you need help with something else!
June 15th, 2011 at 3:43 PM
Thank you so much for sharing!!! You have a wonderful site and I will be sure to try and learn how to do some of them
July 8th, 2011 at 7:25 PM
First off I want to say I love your blog! You make some awesomely cute things! & I have 2 young daughters myself &due with my third girl in Sept. And you deff inspire me! I love this tute! You are so right after you do this once I can make these with my eyes closed (I wouldn’t tho that would cause some mistakes & bleeding prolly too lol) But you know they are easy! Thank you for this! I can’t wait to make more!
Karin Marie
July 8th, 2011 at 7:38 PM
[...] I didn’t get their dresses made until this morning, but they went together quickly using my pillowcase dress tutorial. [...]
July 21st, 2011 at 7:37 PM
I bought a pillowcase dress made by my friend’s wife and it was very cute and very expensive. Then I saw this. I had extra fabric lying around so figured I’d try. First, I’d like to agree.. EASIEST DRESS EVER!!! And your instructions are perfect! I struggled with the width thing too at first like Cindy, but more so because I was using an already cut scrap and not a fresh piece of fabric. The dress came out awesome and I can see many more of these in my kiddo’s future since they are so easy to make! Thanks!
August 14th, 2011 at 11:38 PM
This was my first sewing project that I finished! It turned out super cute. I worked on it all evening, and I can’t wait for the morning to try it on my 1 year old! How would I share a picture of it?
Thanks!
Sasha
August 14th, 2011 at 11:41 PM
Sorry, one question! I have threads hanging out everywhere from all of my seams–do I need to tie those or can I just cut them off (and how close can I cut them, without the seam unraveling)? In your pictures I don’t see any extra thread hanging out!
Thanks,
Sasha
August 15th, 2011 at 12:04 AM
Hi Sasha! I’d love if you shared pictures in my Flickr group. The link is over on my right sidebar.
As for the threads, when I start and stop each seam, I backstitch a few stitches to “lock in” the seam. If you did that, just clip the threads. If you didn’t, tie them off and clip them with little tails. If you don’t do anything to to them, they’ll come out when you wash it and your project will fall apart. I hope it fits her and you share some pictures!
Melissa
September 11th, 2011 at 12:14 PM
I just started sewing about 3 weeks ago, and I came across your tutorial….the BEST thing I’ve ever read!! Thanks soooo much for this super, duper easy way to make these dresses!! I’ve made about 7 in the past few days.
Thanks again!
September 16th, 2011 at 10:37 AM
Love this! I {heart} your blog! Just whipped up 3 of these precious little dresses, thank you so much for your lovely tutorial.
October 16th, 2011 at 3:27 PM
Tried your tutorial for my first ever adventure in pillowcase dress making. THANK YOU for providing a SIMPLE dress with an easy to follow tutorial. I am brand new to sewing and this took me 2 hours to make. I have to think with some experience, I will be whipping these out in no time! I botched a few things but the tutorial is structured so well that I was able to compensate. And the pillowcase dress itself is a very forgiving style. Thanks again – can’t wait to try some more of these!!!!!!
October 27th, 2011 at 8:27 PM
I am making these for my 3 grandaughters for Christmas. They are ages 4, 2 and 3 mos. I can’t wait to try this. It looks so easy. My daughters like the 2 different fabrics tho so I will have to figure out the measurements for the lengths of both of them.
November 17th, 2011 at 4:17 AM
I have just got back into sewing after years of only doing repairs. It’s my friends daughters 5th birthday soon so I have just made her a spotty bright dress. Your instructions are awesome, I can’t believe how easy it was. Thanks!
November 17th, 2011 at 12:45 PM
Yay!! I’ve been searching for a very easy (both to sew and to understand) pillowcase dress tut. This is it!! Thank you for not using bias tape or having any curves on the arm holes. I should be able to whip these out easy peasy. I found you off of Pintrest, by the way. Have a wonderful day!!
November 28th, 2011 at 4:19 PM
This is the exact way I make all my pillowcase dresses! I just stumbled across your blog from pinterest and I am loving it!
January 10th, 2012 at 6:49 PM
I am making these dresses for “Dress a Girl Around the World”
January 13th, 2012 at 2:31 PM
I have made 30 of these dresses in different sizes, (even adult size) for a charity call “Little Dresses for Africa”. Now I am going to make some for my great niece for this summer. She is three years old. They are so easy and turn out so cute. I even put pockets on some.
Chris
January 25th, 2012 at 7:01 PM
Wondering what width you used?
Thanks
January 27th, 2012 at 2:59 PM
I just want to say thank you for this tutorial. It’s so much easier than cutting curves and applying bias tape! I am working on my third dress (in two weeks!) and have modified your instructions only to include a fabric tie (instead of pre-made ribbon) and a ruffled bottom.
January 30th, 2012 at 10:21 PM
so sweet!
February 2nd, 2012 at 12:37 AM
This is sew cute!! I’m going to make this for my niece for her birthday in a few weeks. It would even be cute in a little heavier fabric paired with leggings and a long sleeved solid under it for fall.
February 8th, 2012 at 6:41 PM
Wonderful tutorial!! The best that I have seen for a pillowcase dress. Any idea what measurements I should use for a baby 6-9 months old? I have found some measurements for older children but not for babies. I tried to make one dress from a pattern and it did not come out well at all. I’m so excited about trying your suggestions and following your tutorial to make sure that I get it right.
Thank you again for the great tutorial.
February 13th, 2012 at 3:08 PM
Thank you! I’m a total newbie, and was able to make this dress in just a few hours. Awesome tutorial!
February 15th, 2012 at 8:16 PM
[...] throughout this project, but this one was by far the best (in my opinion) for first-timers (this one on the Sew Like My Mom blog has a ribbon neck instead of elastic – cute!). I learned a lot [...]
February 16th, 2012 at 10:38 PM
OMG this is EXACTLY the way I do mine! I tried the store patterns and I just could not get them just right. I also didn’t like the gapping under the arms showing the personal stuff. So I made what I thought was my very own version! Guess we had the same idea!
February 25th, 2012 at 12:39 PM
Thanks so much for this pattern!
I’m excited to start making dresses for my soon-to-be baby girl, and my nieces.
March 1st, 2012 at 9:21 PM
Thanks so much for this pattern! I made my little girl an Elmo dress today, and she’s thrilled. Now she can quit wearing her elmo pj top outside.
March 8th, 2012 at 6:57 PM
Hi,
I’m not understanding the seam in the middle of the casing to hold the ribbon?
March 9th, 2012 at 1:51 PM
Tins, I think I can answer that one. I made a pillowcase dress for my niece without the seam in the middle for the ribbon, and within five seconds, she had given the ribbon a yank and it was on the floor. This will keep you from having to re-string it all the time. And you won’t be able to see it when the dress is on because of the gathering that occurs.
March 14th, 2012 at 6:09 AM
I don’t have any kids and have never made a pillowcase dress. That being said, wouldn’t it be cute to make it into a skirt when they out-grow it? Everyone seems to use them as just tops but a skirt would be cute. You could just use a seam ripper where the ribbon has been secured. Remove the ribbon and then thread in a fairly wide elastic and secure it in place. I have little cousins that have some they have our-grown and am thinking of stealing their old ones and trying this. Do you think it will work? Any advice?
March 14th, 2012 at 3:10 PM
Can this be printed for personal use? I tried to print out for family member and nothing happened. Any info appreciated. Thanks for wonderful pattern and info for us first timers and new granny.
March 14th, 2012 at 10:38 PM
Just used this tutorial to re-create a dress given to my daughter from Hanna Andersson! Thank you!
March 21st, 2012 at 3:46 PM
Hi, this looks great, I’m a real beginner so I may sound daft but I’m confused at the point where you put the bottom hem in – as far as I can see at this point you have already sewn both sides up but the next picture shows a flat piece of material with the side seam having been ironed flat (i.e only sewn on one side?) and then you say sew the hem in but if you’ve already sewn up both sides how can you then sew the hem in as you are folding up a circular piece of material? As I say i really am a beginner and I learn by doing so I’m struggling with the pictures – can any one help a hopeless beginner please
March 22nd, 2012 at 3:32 PM
[...] PURCHASING RELICS FROM YOUR GRANDMA! I bought a dinosaur of a sewing machine. I plan on making this and this and also this. [...]
March 23rd, 2012 at 2:26 PM
[...] followed this tutorial I pinned on Pinterest–by far the easiest instructions I’ve seen. She maps everything [...]
March 25th, 2012 at 12:43 PM
@deb–I had the exact same question! Do we need to sew one side together, hem, then sew the other side? I’m a bit confused on this step. I can’t wait to make for my 2 yr old!!!!
March 25th, 2012 at 1:15 PM
Yes, you sew both sides together then sew up the hem.
April 2nd, 2012 at 11:24 PM
When you say, “Make sure your selvages line up,” that threw me off. Your fold is parallel to the selvage, isn’t it? So, the selvage and the cut would need to line up. Am I correct?
April 5th, 2012 at 11:50 AM
I made my little girl 5 of these dresses in one day yesterday. She LOVES them! They are cute enough to wear just about anywhere. I have seen this same type of dress for sale at craft shows, usually the dress is in some sort of football team fabric, for $35 each. I have no more than $10 in each dress I made, and made one for our favorite football team too. Now I have friends wanting me to make the dress for their little girls. LOVE this pattern. Thanks for sharing it.
April 17th, 2012 at 6:02 PM
I’m a real beginner and am wondering how much fabric to buy for one 2T dress. Thanks for your help, especially if I missed that detail somewhere!!
April 21st, 2012 at 12:53 PM
I so want to try this!!!
April 25th, 2012 at 11:17 AM
I have a question. What type of fabric works best? I want to make about 6 of these dresses but would like them to look really nice using designer fabrics.
Thank you so much for the wonderful tutorial.
April 25th, 2012 at 3:12 PM
I wanted to make an easy dress for my 5yr old stepdaughter…this was my first sewing project and the tutorial was great!!! I made a dress in ~2 hours…and it looks fantastic. I can’t wait to show it to her tonight!!! thanks so much…
April 26th, 2012 at 12:30 AM
[...] did some online searching and found this awesome tutorial for a pillowcase dress. It looked simple, adorable, and a perfect project. I then made some measurements and cut my [...]
April 26th, 2012 at 4:53 PM
Thank you for this great tutorial. I just made this dress! It is my first ever sewing project (I am a total beginner) and I made this in about 2 hours!!! Yaaaay!! I now need lots more pretty fabric, to make lots more pretty dresses!!!
April 27th, 2012 at 11:26 AM
I made this dress this morning for my 4yr old. It took me just under 2 hours. It was so easy. Unfortunately she tried it on and said she didn’t like it
She said it was too bunched up at the top. I hope she changes her mind cause it came out really cute.
April 27th, 2012 at 10:38 PM
Wow, so easy! I made this with some leftover fabric (just to be sure that I could do it, so that I wouldn’t spend money on fabric and ruin it) and the dress is adorable and it only took me an hour. Thank you for the tutorial, I can’t wait to make more dresses for my daughters!
April 30th, 2012 at 9:03 AM
[...] I needed to go outside my comfort zone for somebody else. I followed a really great tutorial from Sew Like My Mom, and it took me a little over an hour. Thank you Kristy for inspiring me to get off my duff! (And [...]
May 3rd, 2012 at 11:27 PM
Thank you so much for this tutorial! This is my second time sowing (first by myself) and I used this your tutorial to make this dress for my daughter. Very good instructions (even for a beginnger sewer like me!). My daughters dress turned out AWESOME! Thank you!
May 10th, 2012 at 11:36 AM
I am a beginner sewer and I would love to make one of these dresses for my niece whether it is a shirt or a dress. She is 12 though and I am not sure how to measure the length and am a little confused on how much material would be needed. I am very excited to try this pattern. Thank you for any help.
May 13th, 2012 at 6:49 AM
Great tutorial! I am not a very good sewer so lots of pictures and simple steps are always a good thing for me. My one daughter wears a dress everyday so this will come in handy. I’d love too for you to link up to my Piece of Cake Party @:
http://qualitycheaphome.blogspot.com/2012/05/piece-of-cake-linky-party-6.html
Hope to see you there!