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kojodesigns

kojo tutorial- layers of lace dress

December 6, 2012

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Piper Jane loves the book Kiki and Coco in Paris (ok, actually, she loves all things Paris- thankyouverymuch Madeline). Every time we read it (multiple times each day), Pi asks, “I can have a dress like Coco?”

The dress Coco wears is layers of lace with a bow on one shoulder, pillowcase dress style. Even though a sleeveless dress is hardly December-wear, I can’t say no to that girl and her requests for mama-made dresses (plus, I figure I can just dress her in layers on Christmas Eve when she wears this dress). Even better, this dress is a really easy sew (confession- I made a matching doll sized one in case I get around to making her a Coco doll for Christmas).

Want to make a super simple layers of lace, Coco-esque dress too? You’ll need-

-white fabric, dress length and about a yard wide

-a few yards of lace (I emptied my collection of vintage lace trim to make this dress)

-a woman’s slip with lace on the bottom

-a long thin strip of white satin (about 3 inches by 2 yards)

-a template dress in the size you’re making

Put the template dress on top of the slip. Add a couple of inches to the top and cut off the slip.

Layer the slip with plain white fabric (mine has a lace hem tape edge, but yours doesn’t have to). Match the bottom edge of the white fabric along the top edge of the lace and let it overlap a little.ย  Match up the bottom edge of the slip with the bottom edge of an existing dress (to estimate length). Add an inch or so at the top edge and cut.

Pin and sew layers of lace to the white fabric (finish the bottom edge if it needs to be finished). If you have a larger swatch of lace, use this as your top piece (to make the sleeves and neckline less maintenance).

Once the fabric is covered in lace, fold in half and sew up the edge. If you need to cut down the women’s slip to match the width of the top piece of the dress, do so and sew up the edge as well (I used a women’s size small slip and still had to cut a couple of inches off to make the slip match the dress).

Cut triangles 2″ deep and 5″ tall at the top corners of both the dress and the slip (these will become the armholes).

Layer the dress into the slip with the wrong side of the slip facing the right side of the dress. Check to make sure that the length is correct (the lace from the slip should show, but none of the slip itself). Pin together the two pieces along the top edges and soon-to-be sleeves. Sew the two pieces together along the entire perimeter (both top edges and the sleeves).

Turn right side in. Fold the top edges (front and back) both down one inch (it’s a finished edge, so you don’t have to finish it off or double roll). Sew a casing along the top edge.

Take your looooong, thin strip of fabric and pin in half, right sides facing each other. Sew up the open side of the rectangle, making a tube. Turn the tube right side in, tuck in the raw ends and finish off each end with a top stitch.

Thread the finished-off satin through the top casings (or vintage ricrac for the matching babydoll version). Measure for sleeve length and sew in place on the front and back casings (not necessary, but keeps the sleeves in place). Tie the other shoulder bow sleeve in place (again, you can sew the satin and casing together on the other edge if you want it to stay put- I did).

Delight a Coco-dress-admiring baby girl with her very own layered lace dress.

It’s the perfect Christmas Eve dress. Also, some of these outtakes kill me with their cuteness (and silliness- they’re singing “O Come All Ye Faithful” in the second picture).

ps- When I first showed Pi the in-the-works dress, she said, “But it’s not pink- no thank you.” Luckily, she woke up from her nap with a changed heart and has deemed the white acceptable Christmas-Eve-wear. Weasel.

girl 14 Comments

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. simplesimonandco says

    December 6, 2012 at 8:02 am

    So adorable! I love things like this!!!
    -liZ

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      December 6, 2012 at 2:32 pm

      Thanks Liz! It’s SO simple that I almost didn’t post it. But people need easy projects too, right? ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  2. Dayna says

    December 6, 2012 at 9:53 am

    2 year olds are so darn picky, aren’t they?! that last sentence made me laugh out loud. if mine tells me one more time that she needs “purple sunglasses, NOT pink” i am going to scream. i got it kid, mama’s looking…

    LOVE the dress, and as always, the children are beautiful.

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      December 6, 2012 at 2:32 pm

      Haha- glad you feel my picky-2-year-old-diva pain, Dayna. ๐Ÿ™‚ You’re right- your little one and mine would be thick as thieves together. ๐Ÿ™‚
      And thanks for the compliments- luckily, after her diva-moment, she loves the dress. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  3. kate says

    December 6, 2012 at 3:29 pm

    love it! Haha, I can’t believe she didn’t want it at first! That is too funny.

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      December 6, 2012 at 9:20 pm

      hilarious and opinionated that one. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  4. Delia says

    December 7, 2012 at 12:57 am

    I can almost hear their cute little voices singing! What cuties! You are such a good mama and that dress is adorable. I am struggling, really struggling to come up with a Christmas dress design for Natalie that I love. I think I may be thinking too hard about it. Time to get cracking! Thanks for the motivation!

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      December 7, 2012 at 3:49 pm

      Haha- their caroling was cracking me up (and all of the neighbors within range- haha!). ๐Ÿ™‚
      Can’t wait to see what you come up with for Natalie- girls are so fun!

      Reply
  5. Chris says

    December 7, 2012 at 11:01 am

    Gorgeous…and I can’t believe how much Piper has grown.

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      December 7, 2012 at 3:52 pm

      Thanks Chris! Crazy how fast that happens, right???
      ps- COUNTERTOPS TOMORROW! Only someone who has been through this crazy process knows how fun it is to see light at the end of the tunnel. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  6. Erin says

    December 12, 2012 at 9:12 am

    This is adorable!! Love all of the sweet layers! Actually, the FIRST thing that I thought when I was flipping through the pictures is how reminiscent it is of that lacey maternity skirt tutorial you did, was that when you were pregnant with Piper? That was around when I first started reading your blog. So super adorable.

    Reply
    • Kirstin says

      December 12, 2012 at 3:38 pm

      Haha- I can’t believe you remember that Erin. I’m a little embarrassed about those pictures, actually. Live and learn, right??? ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
      • Erin says

        December 17, 2012 at 1:51 pm

        Ha ha. Are the pictures bad? I don’t remember that. I just remember thinking that the next time that I was pregnant, I needed to make sure that it was during the fall so that I could wear that skirt and some boots. ๐Ÿ™‚

        Reply
        • Kirstin says

          December 17, 2012 at 8:36 pm

          Hmmm, glad you don’t remember. ๐Ÿ™‚ Love your last post, btw. What a sweetheart you have!

          Reply

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