Before you start, you’ll need to print off and prepare your patterns. Please refer to the Helpful Hints for help in choosing the proper fabric for your gowns. You may click on any of the pictures for a larger view.

Once you have your patterns, you’re ready to start cutting your fabric. Don’t forget to place the back piece of your pattern along the fold of the fabric.

Once you have your fabric cut, you’ll need to finish off the edges to prevent fraying. If you are using a serger, you’ll finish your edges as you go along. If you are using just a sewing machine, you’ll need to zig-zag along the edges of each piece before you put the gown together.

The next step is hemming the arms. If you wait until the end to do this step, you’ll have a tiny little arm hole that will be impossible to hem on your machine and you’ll have to do it by hand. Start by making a small fold along the edge of the arm. Make sure that the fold is consistent in size the entire length. A quick press with a hot iron will keep your fold in place.

Don’t forget to adjust your machine back to a straight stitch! Run a straight stitch to create your hem. Repeat this step on all four arm pieces.

With your arms hemmed, you’re ready to start assembling the gown. Take one of the side pieces and lay it on the back piece, with right sides facing each other. Line the edges up and pin. Remember that the front pieces are longer than the back piece, so don’t panic when you see an overhang on the bottom edge!

Sew the two pieces together with a straight stitch. Don’t forget to leave the arm hole open. You can always stick a pin across that section as a reminder to stop sewing when you get to it. You’re now halfway finished with putting the gown together! Piece of cake, right?

If you plan to use a button or other embelishment to finish off your gown, repeat the last step with the second front flap. If you would like to use a ribbon closure, add this next step when you sew the second front flap on.

Lay the second flap down on the back piece, with right sides facing. Cut your ribbon to the appropriate length for the gown you are making. Measure from the bottom of the front flap and put a little mark with a fabric pencil so you know where to place the ribbon.

If your ribbon is the same on both sides (sheen or pattern), then it doesn’t matter which side you lay it on to pin. If one side is shiny or patterned and the other is not, you’ll need to lay the ribbon with the shiny/patterned side down. This way, when you turn the gown right side out, the shiny/patterned side of the ribbon faces up. I suggest that you pin the ribbon in and then turn the gown right side out as best you can and just double check that things look OK before sewing.

Slide the ribbon under the flap that you’ll be sewing. Let a little tail poke out so you can see where the ribbon is and that it is straight. Slide a pin into the ribbon to hold it in place. Pin the other edges of the gown, and then finish with a straight stitch. Make sure that the ribbon doesn’t slide and turn….if you sew it in crooked, you’ll have to unpick.

Once the ribbon is sewn in, you can clip the little tail on the inside of the gown and apply a little Fray Check or clear fingernail polish to prevent it from fraying.

Now that your gown is fully assembled, it’s time to hem the edges all the way around. If you have a nice machine that will allow you to do a rolled hem, this is a quick way to finish the edge that looks very nice. The rest of us will have to hem

As you did with the sleeves, you’ll need to turn the edge in and press it to keep it in place. Be sure to keep the amount of your fold consistent all the way around.

If you chose to use a ribbon closure, you’ll need to add this next step in before sewing in the hem. Measure from the bottom of the front flap and make a mark on your fabric, just like you did when adding the previous piece of ribbon. Take the end of your ribbon and place it under the fold of your hem. Now, fold the entire ribbon over (a quick press with the iron will make this easier to manage). You’re kind of making a little hook so that the ribbon can catch itself under the hem (see part 2…approx. 1:45…of the video tutorial if this is confusing). Carefully pin the ribbon into place.

You are now ready to hem your edge. Run a straight stitch around the entire gown. The neck is a little difficult and the fold of your hem often tries to unfold itself–go slow here. You also run into another small obstacle when you get to the back of the gown, where the back meets up with the front flaps. Because the front is longer than the back, you have a little overhang, which means you can’t hem straight across. You’ll need to carefully make the transition between the two lengths, turning the gown a bit as you go to create kind of a little corner. Practice will make perfect on this part. The larger the gown, the more pronounced the length difference will be, so you might not run into the issue at all with the x-small sized gown.

 Once everything is hemmed, one more quick press will give the gown a nice finished look.  It is now ready to donate!