Smocked Sundress with Pom Poms Pattern


I’m so thrilled some of you are finally able to shirr thanks to the little trick I shared with the Sweet Shirred Summer Dress Pattern.  I’m having so much fun shirring my heart out, I hope you are too!

Here’s a take on the traditional smocked dress for summer, made with another gorgeous voile from City Craft which is available online here.  Get the full DIY Smocked Sundress Pattern after the jump…

Smocked Sundress Free Pattern

1.  You’ll need 3/4 yard pre-washed lightweight cotton (i used a voile), some elastic thread, and some pom pom fringe.  You can cut the fabric down to the appropriate size, the smocking is very forgiving.  Mine is for my freakishly tall two year old.  You want the width about 1.5-2 times the chest measurement of the wearer.  Just add 1″ to the length and 1/2″ to the width for the seams/hems.
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2.  Along a long end of your fabric fold 1/4″ and iron, another 1/4″ and iron, and sew in place to create the hem at the top of your dress:
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3.  Now time to shirr!  For tips on shirring read this post.  So load your bobbin with elastic thread and your spool with regular thread.  I used a contrasting color just to be different.  We are going to sew our lines of shirring all the way across the whole panel 5/8″ apart starting 5/8″ after our hem line.  Here is the first line of shirring:
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the second:
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the third:
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and i did 9 lines for my two year old.  Do as many as you like!
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4.  Now fold your shirred panel in half, right sides facing, trying to make the shirring line up and sew together with a straight stitch:
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Finish the seam by serging, sewing with a zig zag or overlock stitch, or cutting with pinking shears:
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5.  Now for the hem.  You can just do a traditional hem, but I wanted to add some pom poms for a little flair.  I serged the unfinished edge, but you can just iron it in 1/4″ all the way around to start:
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Sew your trim facing upward to the front of the dress:
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Now flip the trim under the dress and iron (and pin if you want, i was in too much of a rush):
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Then top stitch it in place.  You’re trimmed hem is done!
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6.  Now for your straps.  You can make some traditional straps out of your dress fabric, or use ribbon or bias tape or what have you, but i wanted pom poms because i love them.  Line up your dress so the seam is in the middle of the back.  Measure two inches away from the seam on each side and pin your straps:
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Ideally you want to seam-rip your original top hem and slide the strap under it, then fold it back over and sew in place so you don’t get double-sewing lines, but you don’t have to:
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Repeat to attach the straps to the front of the dress (maybe after trying it on your model to be sure they are the right length).  Done!
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What do you think?  Are the pom poms too much?

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22 Comments

Jessica@SewHomegrown

This is beautiful! I am loving voile at the moment and have some scraps from a skirt I am making for myself- this would be the perfect thing to do with them! I LOVE the pom poms – they make the dress ๐Ÿ™‚

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Jacinda

This dress is so beautiful that I actually want Summer to come. I would brave 110 degree temps for this dress. That's how much I love it.

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meg duerksen

i LOVE the pom pom straps! i am totally doing that with my annie's new dress…it's has a halter tie neck that she hates…so i told her i'd sew on straps. she will LOVE the pom poms!

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cate

wow, so simple, even I could do it! the colours are awesome, it wouldn't be the same dress without the pom pom trim… I'm wondering if I can convince my girls, big and small, that they really need one of these dresses ~lol~

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Kelsey

THANK YOU, THANK YOU! I made myself an Easter dress with shirring at the top, and I love it – so much better then anything I could have bought. So, I'll say it again: Thank you! ๐Ÿ˜€

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kirstin & jordan

LOVE the pom poms, definitely not too much. and your shirring tutorial made all the difference for me (I have a drop in bobbin too). I am forever grateful, though my husband is not too sure about this discovery because all I want to do is shir and shir some more. ๐Ÿ™‚

Reply
leo

Hi there,

This is adorable! Am I missing the pattern? I can’t seem to find it. What does ‘after the jump’ mean?

Reply

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