DIY Designer Easter Dress

Three cheers for Spring! And if you feel like I do, your cheers are accompanied by some cartwheels, a fist pump and a toyota jump or two, just for good measure. I am loving soaking up the sunshine and breathing the fresh air. Celebrating all this springy goodness is getting me excited to celebrate the next holiday – Easter! We always celebrated Easter growing up, and my memories include the normal stuff…eggs, candy, special programs at church and a delicious dinner. But something that made Easter special for me was the handmade dresses my Mom would make for my sister and I every year .

Check us out – Easter 1985! My mom is an awesome seamstress!

So many, many years later, I am all grown up now, (I guess) and am now a mother myself, and I figure I should keep that tradition alive. I have been wanting to do some sort of DIY fashion-for-less post, so with Easter on it”s way, a DIY designer Easter dress post was calling my name.

I wasn”t really sure if there would be any truly “designer” easter dresses to use as a spring board. But lo and behold, I checked out the spring line for children by Dolce and Gabbana, and it was love at first sight.

Check out their awesome line here and don”t be surprised if you wish you owned the whole line for your kids, or grandkids, or whatever. These are some adorable duds!

And now I get to show-and-tell!!! I”ll show you the designer dress that inspired me, and tell you about the process I used to make my own version. As the completely indecisive person I am, I couldn”t choose just one design, so you get to see two. The way I approached each DIY dress was totally different, so I hope both show-and-tells are relevant and useful!

Approach #1: Designer Look with Minimal Cost and Time

I like to sew. I actually really love to sew. I could spend HOURS every day sewing…but I have two children under the age of two. So I have very little time to dedicate to sewing. If you are one best online casino such kindred soul – the I love to sew but am too busy – type, this is the approach for you.

Start by picking out a simple design. Look for something that catches your eye, but doesn”t have a lot of details that take time to figure out. Pay attention to the different elements going on and decide what is important enough to keep in your design, and what is not necessary. Then go buy materials, get to work and wha-la! You will have a designer inspired masterpiece ready for the holiday.

Dress #1 Stats:

Time STF: 20 minutes
Cost: $8.00
Inspiration: Dress on the Left

• What I kept: White on Top, floral on bottom, knee length, high waistline
• What I threw out : Sewing a bodice, Scrunched waistband
• What I did: I used a t-shirt for the white top, and added a gathered skirt at a high waist and hemmed it at the knee.

Here is the finished look on my non-cooperative toddler:

 Simple and beautiful, but easy, and cheap!

Approach #2: Designer Details at a DIY cost

This second approach comes from the mentality that you actually want your finished product to look nearly the same as your inspiration, or that it is in fact, something you bought from a high-fashion store. In order to achieve that goal, you have to pay attention to the details. Pick apart every part of the design and make a list of what needs to be included.

At this point, you may be wondering if there is going to be a pattern out there that will meet all the requirements you have just come up with. Most likely the answer is no, but don”t despair! There are a lot of patterns out there, and you can probably come up with one or two patterns that will come close – pattern and fabric companies try to keep up with current trends, so you can definitely find something that will work. If you have the skills, draft your own pattern!

Dress #2 Stats:

Time STF: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Cost: $10-$20.00*
Inspiration: Dress on Right and Skirt and Top on Left

Elements I used: doleman style short sleeves, lined lace skirt, floral top, button in back of bodice, knee length skirt.

What I did: I have a little flat pattern drafting experience, so I decided to try my hand at making my own pattern for this project. (If you don”t draft patterns and want to buy one, I suggest McCalls 6875.) *I used fabric I already had on hand for the lining, so I only spent $10, but if you needed lining fabric it would be closer to $20.

And here are the results – something about the measuring cup helped her stay still long enough to get a good picture or two!

So there you have it – make your wallet happy and start a cool tradition. Happy Easter!