reversible jersey blue dress tutorial

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Reversible dresses for Piper Jane have been my best friend during our travels! It seems inevitable that we need a new outfit at the most inconvenient times (on a plane ride, while we’re at some fabulous site, etc.) and reversible dresses have been saving the day!

Even better, I made a reversible jersey dress for this trip that has been my go-to in the heat of the summer in the middleeast. Seriously, I love it!

The little Smoochies in your life need one too, I am sure of it (I am seriously considering trying to adapt this tutorial to make a reversible, jersey dress for myself- if you do it, let me know how you did!).

To make a reversible jersey dress, you’ll need-

-two lengths of jersey (the blue is from an XXL Old Navy dress that I got on sale and I picked the anchor fabric up at a thrift store)

-an A-line ‘template’ dress in the size you are making (find one with a fairly high neckline)

-fabric pen

-sewing supplies

1. Double over your jersey fabric (for the front and the back). Then fold your doubled over fabric in half. Also fold your template dress in half, line up the folds, and trace around the outside edge with a fabric pen. Leave about a half inch of margin for your seams on all edges. I also added a couple of inches of length to the bottom so that the dress’ wearability will be extended a bit (Piper is tall and thin- the width of clothes fit her longer than the length does).

2. Cut out your pieces.

3. Measure the width of your sleeve bases (the top edge of your ‘sleeve’). Mine was 3″ wide.

4. Using that measurement, draw a rectangle. The bottom edge of the rectangle should match the sleeve measurement and it should be about 10″ tall (if there’s is a pattern on your jersey, lay it out to be sure that the tie-sleeves will look ok with the bottom dress portions). Cut out four of these for each of the fabric choices (you’ll need enough sleeve ties for the front and back pieces in each fabric). Round the top edges of the rectangles.

5. Sew the bottom edge of each sleeve piece to the sleeve tops on the dress pieces.

6. Repeat with the other fabric.

7. Pin the two different fabric dress pieces together, right sides facing each other, along the top edge. Sew along each sleeve and across the neckline.

8. Pull apart the two fabric sides and sew up each of the four dress edges (make sure the right sides are facing each other).

9. With the two different fabrics still pulled apart from each other, find the two right sides of the bottom edge and start pinning together, right sides facing each other. Sew in place. This is a little tricky- you won’t be able to pin the whole thing because you’re pulling the fabric through in a circle. Once you get the hang of it, though, it’s easier than it sounds. Leave a 5″ gap in your sewing.

10. Turn the dress right side in by pulling it through the gap you left along the bottom edge. Tuck the loose fabric back into the hole and top stitch around the entire bottom hem, closing the gap and finishing off the bottom of the dress.

11. Tie the sleeve pieces together and you’re done- comfy and soft and adorable, perfect for beach walking and shell collecting and maybe even some ocean dipping (and as a side note, how gorgeous is the scenery here?).

Be sure to stop by delia’s for more blue goodness (the cutest little blue romper) today!

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16 Comments

    1. Robin- me too (love the anchor fabric). And it’s so sweet and comfy that I think another one might be an order. ๐Ÿ™‚

  1. What a cute girl and yes…the scenery is beautiful. Wish I could be there right now. sigh… ๐Ÿ™‚

    Love that nautical fabric!

    1. Thanks Leigh Anne- don’t you just want one for yourself? ME TOO! ๐Ÿ™‚ Little girls get all the good stuff. ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Thanks friend! That little girl has been so funny this trip- her normal sass is a little subdued, making her sweet side her most prominent side. It’s adorable. She’s been cracking me up- can’t wait for you guys to meet your girly girl. They are such a blast!

  2. how lovely! ๐Ÿ™‚ she wears it really well too and how beautiful is that beach! ๐Ÿ™‚ she looks like she’s starting to get used to being in front of your camera! ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Aww, thanks!
      She LOVES the beach (just like her mama)- maybe that’s why she seems so camera friendly? I hope that it’s because she’s just getting better at it though! ๐Ÿ™‚
      Thanks again! ๐Ÿ™‚

  3. What a clever idea for toddlers who are always getting their dresses dirty within like , half an hour. More bang for the sewing buck!

    1. Exactly! I brought four (yes FOUR) reversible dresses on this trip and they’re all earning their keep in the suitcase. Love them! ๐Ÿ™‚

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