'ZESTI Baby Dress Cut & Sew Tutorial

Baby dress

cut & sew tutorial by

© ‘zesti - Ine Beerten

front inside panel of the dress

back inside panel of the dress

front panel of the dress

back panel of the dress

Š ‘zesti - Ine Beerten

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What you need 1

front and back panel of the baby dress

Before we start, let me just thank you once more for buying my

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front and back inside panel of the baby dress

baby dress cut & sew pattern. This is the first time I’m making

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‘zesti label* (or your own label if you have one)

a tutorial like this, my sewing vocabulary is kind of limited

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2 velcro strips of 4cm x 1,2cm (1.5” x 0.45”)

especially since English is not my native language, so please

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thread in the colours of the fabric

bear with me. If you find anything unclear, or have suggestions

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pins

to improve the tutorial please feel free to contact me at

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scissors

info@zesti.be

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iron & ironing board

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sewing machine

* mini tutorial for sewing the ‘zesti label at end of the baby dress tutorial

Tutorial Step 1 Iron the pleats in the front and back panel of the dress. I always do this before I start sewing, because it’s easier to iron the pleats now than after you sew the sides.

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© ‘zesti - Ine Beerten

Step 2 Place the front panel on the back panel so the sides align and pin together (printed side of the fabric on the inside). Sew the sides. I always use a seam allowance the half the width of my sewing machine foot (7mm), so it’s easy to simple align the side of the fabric with my foot. To prevent the fabric from unraveling it’s best to also use a zigzag stitch or use a serger if you have one. After sewing the side seams, press them flat.

Step 3 Iron the hemline about 2,5cm (1”) from the bottom. Zigzag stitch.

Pin the hemline and sew it.

Step 4 Top stitch the pleats. And then pin the pleats together at about 10cm (4”) below the neckline. Make sure the print lines up perfectly.

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© ‘zesti - Ine Beerten

Step 5 Sew the pleats together. You can do this by using the button hole stitch or a very small zigzag stitch for about 2cm across the pleats. Do this on both the front and the back panel.

Step 6 Next we’re going to pin the sides of the inside parts of the dress together and sew and zigzag them. Make sure the printed side of the fabric is on the inside.

After sewing the sides zigzag the hemline.

Step 7 Time to attach the velcro strips. If you want to use buttons you can attach them at a later stage when the dress is ready.

I usually add the soft (loop) side of the velcro to the back of the dress, and the hard (hook) side of the velcro to the front of the inside of the dress (hope that makes any sense).

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Š ‘zesti - Ine Beerten

Step 8 First pin together the top of the pleats at the neckline. Next pin the inside of the dress to the outside. Sew the neckline.

Zigzag if you like, I usually don’t do it here.

Step 9 Next cut of corners and snip fabric in the curves. Turn inside out.

Use a pointy but non-sharp utensil to pull out the corners (I use a bookbinding bone tool, don’t use scissors, you could cut the fabric). Then iron the fabric flat. And top stitch the neckline.

Step 10 Almost done now, we only need to do one more thing after tops stitching the neckline and that’s to secure the inside of the dress by sewing for about 5 cm (2”) right below the armpit on top of the side seam. Do this on both sides.

And now we’re ready! Woohoo!

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© ‘zesti - Ine Beerten

‘zesti label Tu

torial

corners and sides. Cut of th o b ew S . bric double Fold label fa y to use! ut! Voila, read o e d si in rn tu © ‘zesti - Ine

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