Shirred Bandana Dress

My darling two-year-old is in love with Dora, or "Dee-Do" as she calls her.  So, when I saw these bandanas at Hobby Lobby, I couldn't resist transforming them into a dress for her.  It was incredibly easy, and I'm happy to share the details with you.

You will need:

• Two Bandanas (mine measured 20" x 20", and were $1.99 each at Hobby Lobby)
• One roll Elastic thread (available at WalMarts that still sell fabric, or at fabric stores - $0.97 at WalMart)
• Regular thread to coordinate with the background of your bandana
• Ribbon for around the neck

Measuring the child:

• My daughter is 27 months old and weighs about 25 lbs.  She is 34 inches tall.  This dress would likely be too long and would require a hem on anyone shorter than 34". 
• Measure from under your child's armpits down their chest.  Note where you would like the shirring (the elastic thread) to stop.  My child measured 4".
• Plan to have enough ribbon to tie behind their neck, or you could make two traditional shoulder straps or a cross in the back- be creative!

Start with two bandanas.

Because bandanas are finished on all edges, you won't need to hem anything.  See?  Already easy. 

These bandanas were $1.99 each.

Next, remove any tags or price stickers from your bandanas.

Place bandanas RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER on your worktable.

Using regular thread to match the background of your bandans, sew down ONE side of the bandanas.  If you bandanas have a direction, make sure you are sewing a side seam and not the neck or hem of the dress.  Remember to only sew down ONE side.

Using elastic thread, hand wind your bobbin until full.  Depending on the size of your child, it may take several bobbins.  Wind a few in the beginning to save yourself time during the sewing process.

Wind loosely.  Do not pull the elastic tight.  Allow it to easily wrap around the bobbin.

Using the edge of your presserfoot as a guide, begin sewing.  You will be sewing down the long edge of the bandana (essentially sewing down one bandana, over the seam you made previously, and on to the second bandana).

The top of your machine is threaded with regular thread - whatever closely matches your bandana background.  Only the bobbin is threaded with elastic thread.

I sewed 13 rows total, which was four inches. 

Make sure to leave plenty of string at the end of each row.  Many tutorials say you need to tie your top and bobbin thread together at the end of the row - I have personally never done this and not had a problem.  However, if you cut your strings too short you would have it retract back into the stitch and that would be no good! 

It has also been my experience that different brands of elastic thread tend to shirr differently.  So, if you have a small amount on an old roll, I would NOT try to use that piece and then pair it with another brand.  Your dress may not look uniform. 

There is an excellent tutorial on shirring with elastic thread here.

So, now that your shirring is done, you will need to remove your elastic thread bobbin and replace it with the bobbin thread that matches your top thread. 

Pin the remaining side seam of your dress with right sides together and sew the second side seam.

After this seam is done, you may clip all the excess elastic thread and regular thread strings.

Now you have a beautiful strapless dress!

I chose to add a ribbon to tie in the back - halter style, but you can do whatever you want.  Traditional straps, criss cross in the back, anything really - do whatever works with the stash you have and the girl for which you are sewing.

Other variations:

• Use the tutorial here to make a matching pair of bloomers with a third bandana
• Add a ruffle to the bottom if you need more length
• Fit the straps loosely and pair with a long sleeved onesie or shirt for cooler weather