Pillowcase Shirt Tutorial

Today I'm very excited to be guest blogging as part of Sew Chic and Unique's "Inspire to Create Series".  Mayya of Sew Chic lives in Oman! How cool is that!! I love how blogging helps me meet and share ideas with people all over the world!

Today I'm sharing a tutorial for a little girls pillowcase shirt.

Those of you that have been following my blog this summer may know that I've been experimenting with sewing pillowcase dresses.  The pillowcase dress is not a new thing and I'm sure there are a lot of different ways to make one, I've just been sharing a few ways that I've figured out to make them.

After I made the first pillowcase dress I got a lot of questions wondering if there was a way to make it in a shirt size instead of a dress. This week I sat down and decided to see if I could figure it out. I'm happy with how this one turned out. I think it looks adorable with skinny jeans and could easily be layered under a long sleeved t-shirt so that it could be worn into the winter.

This shirt is EASY to make. It is made using ONLY 3 fat quarters.  2 for the front and back and 1 for the trim. This one fits my daughter who is about a size 8. My guess is that this shirt would fit from size 5-8. You can shorten it if needed.

For this project you will need:

-3 fat quarters

-1/2" wide elastic

-2" wide ribbon

To begin, take your fat quarters for the front and back and square up any uneven edges and cut off the selvages. You want to leave the fat quarters as close to their original size as possible.

On the 18" side of the 2 fat quarters measure down 5" and over 2". Cut a J shaped hole out of both sides of both pieces of fabric.

From your 3rd fat quarter cut 2 pieces 4"x 18". Stitch to the uncut 18" side of your other 2 fat quarters. Press seam towards 4" piece of fabric.

Place shirt front and back pieces together and stitch 2 side seams of shirt with 1/4" seam. Zigzag or serge.

Turn under raw edge of shirt band 1/4" press. Fold over so that folded edge of fabric is even with the seam of the shirt/shirt band. Stitch in place. Press.

Cut 2 pieces, 2" wide on the bias from your 3rd fat quarter.

Pin right side of bias pieces to right side of underarm seams. Stitch with 1/4" seam.

Fold under raw edge 1/4" and press. Fold again and pin in place. Stitch & press.

Turn under top edges of shirt 1/4" and press. Turn under again 3/4" and stitch close to folded edge. This will create the elastic casing.

Thread your 1/2" elastic  through the front shirt casing.  Adjust the width of the elastic based on the size of the shirt you are making. The smaller the size the more gathering,  the larger the size the less gathering. Feed end of ribbon into the casing, it will only go in about 1/2".  Stitch so that the elastic and ribbon both stay in place.  Repeat for other side of shirt.

Enjoy!

also I just wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who gave me suggestions this summer for the pillowcase dress construction!  That's where I got the idea to use elastic in the top instead of ribbon!!

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