In spite of having a killer cold this weekend my cousin Lindsay came to visit and saved the weekend with our sew-a-thon. We spent an insane amount of time in my studio with the buzz of our sewing machines and the chatter of fabric, ribbon and shirring!
Have your ever shirred fabric? It is so fun. No need to pay $12.99 a yard for shirred fabric when you can do it yourself!
There are tons of tutorials out there for shirring so I won’t give you a how-to. Here’s a great one to get started with. I will say it is crucial to get your bobbin to the right tension so you will have to play with it a little. All you need is some fabric, regular sewing machine thread and elastic thread.
I found this skirt at Salvation Army for $.50 last summer. 
I LOVES me some polka dots so I added it to my fabric collection. This was a perfect starting point since the bottom of the skirt is already hemmed. It doesn’t really matter that is was wider than necessary because of the shirring. I am totally going to be on the lookout for skirts at yard sales this summer since this dress takes like 30 minutes to make once you get the hang of it.
We cut it 15” from the bottom hem and then my cousin, also known as the “the embellishment queen” couldn’t just leave it plain. Oh no, it is against her religion. So we sewed ribbon on the bottom.
We first hemmed the top. Then starting about a 1/2” from the hem we started sewing lines of elastic thread along the top. 
After the shirring is complete you spray a little H2O and steam it with a hot iron and it shrinks all up.
With rides sides together I pinned it and sewed it up. 
Measuring a very wiggly one year old we marked for the ribbon straps and sewed them in place. Of course, “embellishment queen” made me add a frayed rosette in the middle. Shhhhh….don’t tell her she was right and it is waaaay cuter with the rosette.
Speaking of waaaay cuter…
She needed some bloomers to match of course. So using this tutorial Lindsay…ahem…"embellishment queen” whipped up some with the extra fabric. Can you get over those rolls or what!!!
Adorable dress, adorable girl and those rolls, oh to die for!!! I LOVE me some pudgy babies! (I had two!) 🙂
Oh my heck – that is seriously the cutest thing ever! The dress & Kayla. Did I ever mention I love that name! One of my dd's is McKayla! LOL She looks simply darling and the tongue out is just the best! Don't know that my sewing skills can handle this but seriously so cute.
Adorable outfit…MORE adorable baby. 🙂
She is sooo cute it brings tears to my eyes!! So precious!
OMG, she is so cute and the dress is great! She is going to have the best wardrobe, lucky girl!!!
Gave you an award for this cute little number
Brooke@ http://makinitdomestic.blogspot.com
LOVE it! What I want to know is – does Kayla actually keep her bows in her hair? My daughter is 18mo & will NOT keep bows in her hair. I'm going to have to figure out something cause it's just starting to get long enough to get into her eyes but I don't want to cut it. I want her to have long hair.
Good Grief, Beckie!! That is the cutest dress ever! I would totally buy one from you if you ever felt inspired to make more! Size 2T please for a little red head over here! 🙂
Melody H.
I love it! i need to get shirring!
Hello! I'm back after a really long period of exams + tests + assignments. That's an adorable dress!
I love this dress! It looks so cute on such and adorable baby!
Sarah
So cute!!!! I need to learn to make my baby girl some clothes!
Great dress! Gotta love fabric for $.50! She is SO CUTE!
Very sweet! And that last picture is a winner!!
Absolutely adorable!!! You inspire me in so many ways, thank you!!!
Super cute bow, is that from Girly Girlz Bows? 😉
This is the cutest little dress! What a great tip on the shirring. I never new. And the model is pretty stinkin cute too!
and I never KNEW! lol
So perfect! Very cute… I've got to make one! Thanks for sharing!
Best tutorial EVER!!! I miss me some Kayla like you wouldn't believe. These pics are not helping matters.
I OWN being the embelishment queen thankyouverymuch 🙂 Hey that would be a cute blog name, I wonder if it's taken…
That is so cute! The dress is adorable and I love Kayla's curls!
Oh my gosh, you have the cutest squishy baby!!!
I'm sorry but I think is the model not the dress! hahaha seriously, your little girl is beyong beautiful and you do a lovely job dressing her up. I love the dress BTW.
That is the most adorable little baby girl!! Great upcycling that skirt too, it's very cute!
That dress is so cute but the model is cuter, what a little pumpkin Kayla is. Just adorable.
What a cute dress! And such a sweet little girl. She looks adorable!
XOXO
Jen
I'll take 2 please. You can just bring them with you when you come visit…
Dublin Jen
adorable!
You have an absolutely adorable little girl!! And that is an adorable dress as well!
Oh my I think Kayla is quite possibly one of the sweetest babies I have EVER seen! Oh and the dress is cute too 😉
This is so precious. 50 cents – Wow! You know I love up-cycling! I've never tried shirring. It turned out great and she makes it all that more adorable.
Hugs…Tracy 🙂
super cute.. how do you get the bow to stay in her hair. My daughter's is so fine and thin…everything comes right out and I would love to be able to put something in for her pictures that are in a month.
What an ADORABLE polka dress for your ADORABLE little one! You're so smart about how to save money on clothes, kids outgrow them so fast. I don't get it while some parents buy expensive clothes while they may wear them a couple of times and poof… too small! And it's too bad the kids grow up too quick! How old is Kayla? My granddaughter Kyla is 9 months as of 2 days ago and she's not walking yet!
Amazingly adorably cute – I have so many "fabric" items from clothes I've bought but never wear that would be great for this type of project – I so wish I was better at my sewing skills or at least not afraid to try using it – ha! Love the ribbon on the bottom and the polka-dots are great – I'm jealous of your fun cousin time and both of your mad sewing skills – I'm sending my mom to your blog so she can get inspired to sew for my younger neices!
Love the dress! I really need to take the time to learn how to sew better. Your model is adorable BTW!
Absolutely adorable!
Cute little dress. love it. Hey did u get my email about embrodery classes starting Sat? Sadly I will need my machine and stuff before then. I know you will miss it but you will see it again I am sure. 🙂 especially if you teach me to make this dress, I have not done this. 🙂
Oh my goodness! Cuteness overload. She is so stinking cute!! I heart the rolls, too. Awww! I was so sad when my little boy finally lost his last thigh crease–I *love* chubby babies!!
~ Sarah
so darling!!!
do you have any other advise for shirring?
i've tried 3 times on the same dress, as in shirred 8 rows and unpicked it 3x's. i've steamed, i've sprayed, messed with the tension. i give up.
http://www.5happybritts.blogspot.com
Absolutely adorable…the dress, the girl, and the rolls!!!
So…when does it stop being cute to have leg fat and giant chubby leg rolls???
XOXOXOXO
~Amanda
She is so cute! I love rolls on baby legs. My daughter's rolls have melted away and it makes me sad.
I love the dress and the polka dots. Great job!
I seriously want to eat the backs of those knees…your children are just edible! I'm going to go take a bit out of my 18 year old and see what happens…
Awesome little summer frock too. Like icing on a cake.