Hello weekend! Well almost. As it’s on our doorstep, I wanted to close out the week with a very simple DIY – a shirred dress. Something that says ‘yep I’ll have a rosé’ or ‘can I have sprinkles with that’ depending on what you’re into. Or maybe, just maybe, both?
You may remember the tutorial we posted a few weeks ago for the DIY shirring with elastic thread. It’s a really simple and amazing skill that you’ll see used a lot at the moment. As I mentioned in the last post, it’s a technique that can be used for multiple projects, and so we thought why not apply it to a dress, just for the fun of it. I found this strawberry ice cream coloured seersucker fabric and decided it would be the perfect base. Read on for a weekend inspired project!
DIY Shirred Dress
What You Will Need
Pattern
Above is the fabric piece you should cut out. The only measurements you really need are that of your bust. Multiply these measurements by at least 1.5 when you transfer the pattern onto fabric to allow for shrinkage after shirring, we think it’s better to go bigger than smaller, as you can always take in the waist when sewing the dress together. The dress can obviously be made as long as you like, maxi length would be gorgeous! The steps are exactly the same as for the shirred top tutorial, so head there for the video!
How to
See the detailed tutorial for this technique here.
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1. Match your top thread to the fabric. - 1. Match your top thread to the fabric.
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2. Wind Your Elastic thread onto your bobin. - 2. Wind Your Elastic thread onto your bobin.
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3. Mark lines if you need to. - 3. Mark lines if you need to.
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4. Start sewing lines. - 4. Start sewing lines.
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5. Finish sewing when you have enough lines of elastic. Sew the dress together down the long edge. - 5. Finish sewing when you have enough lines of elastic. Sew the dress together down the long edge.
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6. Iron well to finish. - 6. Iron well to finish.
Voila!
A few months ago Nicola and I were catching up in Brisbane and stumbled upon this amazing ice cream parlour! I was pretty much camouflaged in this dress…. A little more pink that I’m usually into but hey, it’s (almost) the weekend!
