I found this great tutorial from
A Small Snippet about
making a maxi dress. I thought it looked fun, so I went off to Target for some tank tops and JoAnn for material for the skirt. In the tutorial, Leana used elastic thread to sew the skirt to the shirt, and it looked pretty complicated, having to change the tension on the bobbin and such, so I used my trusty old technique with elastic, and it worked perfectly. Here are my supplies.
I actually had a hard time finding fabric I liked, so I need to go without children next time so I can really concentrate. The shirt and fabric on the left are for Ronnie - she picked her fabric. First step was to chop the shirt in half. I should have gone a little shorter than this, which sits right at my waist.
Then I dragged out my faithful sewing machine. I've gotten really good at sewing on the floor and using my knee to press the peddle.
I cut a piece of elastic about an inch short than my waist. I marked it in eighths with pins, and then matched it to eighths I marked on the skirt. I put it in the sewing machine, and stretched the elastic out as I sewed around the waist with a wide zigzag stitch. When I let go, there was a gathered waist!
Next I turned it inside out and sewed the shirt onto the skirt, which I also did with a wide zigzag stitch, but without stretching much at all as I sewed. That left a waist like this, once turned the right way.
I sewed up the hem and made a quick sash out of the extra material and put it on my mannequin for the reveal.
It was so fun and easy, I made two, and I expect more in the future!
