My girls love their pillowcase dresses. Actually, in our house they are pillowcase nighties. I made a couple more when I was at Sewjourn – Stella has been stealing Clare’s.
The softness of these old pillowcases makes then perfect for nighties, and they’re also perfect for the hot summer nights ahead. Loose and cool, and highly adjustable – they fit for years.
There are a million tutorials around for pillowcase dresses. I use one that has elastic through the top of the front and back, and then the armholes are bound with bias and they tie on the shoulder. It means that there is no drawstring around the neckline. I used the same bias binding for the armholes and the trim near the hem. Actually, I’ve made so many of these now that I don’t even refer to a tutorial. They take around half an hour to make.
The best bit? This nightie matches the bed sheets.
Very cute Lara and a great idea to use them for nighties. I’ve always steered away from pillowcase dresses because of the sun exposure factor especially with Lucy but this is a great way to use them
Cute, I’m going to have to remember to do this when Charlie gets old enough to wear one.
I love your version – the elastic/binding combo sits so much better than the drawstring versions I’ve seen. Do you remember where the tutorial came from?
Hi there Jackie! I’m not sure which tutorial it was, but this one is pretty much the same – http://402centerstreet.blogspot.com/2011/03/pillowcase-dress-tutorial.html. So is this one – http://www.alexiajean.com/2011/03/pillowcase-dress-tutorial.html and this one – http://www.freshlypickedblog.com/2008/03/pillow-case-dress-tutorial.html. Happy sewing!
I so wish I had thought about pillowcase nighties/dresses when my daughter was that age! They are so lovely.
I think they are brilliant for nighties. I was never hooked on them for dresses. I wonder if my girl is getting too tall.
[...] I was at Sewjourn, both the same size. My daughters are still quite different sizes, but they each claimed one of the nighties. This one will fit Stella [...]