A Pillowcase Dress is a perfect beginner sewing project! This type of dress is made with no zippers, buttons or hooks. Use my free pdf pattern (available in sizes 2 to 16) to learn how to sew a Pillowcase Dress for your little miss!
What is a Pillowcase Dress?
Pillowcase dresses were originally designed to be kind of a “one size fits all” type dress for little girls. The way the dresses are made (loose-fitting and gathered around the neckline). The dress will “grow” with the girl, eventually becoming more of a top than a dress.
This style of “dress” has actually been around for years and years. Pillowcase dresses are fast and simple to make and originally were a great way to recycle a set of pretty pillowcases when one of the sets was lost.
You can easily make this dress with an old pillowcase, but the trend now is to make the pillowcase style dresses with bright pretty fabrics.
If you do use a pillowcase, the instructions are basically the same except the sides and bottom hem are already done! (You would just use the included bodice pattern to cut the armholes.)
Learn How to Make a Pillowcase Dress:
The good news is, for this tutorial, I’ve included a printable pillowcase dress pattern that you can download and print. This post includes step by step instructions on how to sew the pillowcase dress, with photos for you to follow.
Since Pillowcase dresses are designed to grow with the girl, the patterns tend to be “one-size-fits-all.”
I wanted my pillowcase dress to fit a bit better, so I created three different pattern sizes: 2t to 5, 6 to 10 and 12 to 16.
(See the version I just sewed for a 14 to 16 girl here and my adult version here.)
Variations of this Pillowcase Dress Pattern
In this pillowcase dress tutorial, I’ll show you how to make a basic pillowcase dress with a ruffle bottom. If you would like more ideas to change up your pillow case dress, I have a post that includes simple options (and instructions) to “dress up” your pillowcase dress.
Various Pillowcase Dress Options are:
- A contrasting top (which is what I did for these photos),
- Solid dress (with no frill and can be sewn in less than an hour!)
- Solid with banded bottom
- 2 Different tie/strap options.
Fabric Chart for Pillowcase Dress Pattern
Fabric requirements will vary based on the style you choose and size. For a bigger girl, (dress size 6 and up,) you might wish to add width to your pillowcase dress, which will double the amount of fabric needed.
Notice how our size 6 dress is kind of narrow in width? I opted not to use extra fabric and could only make the skirt as wide as the fabric, which was about 42 inches. Don’t worry though, I’ve included a little chart along with the tutorial to help you determine how much fabric is needed.)
Size Chart for the Pillowcase Dress Pattern
- Size Height Weight
- 2t: 34 inches 28
- 3t: 36 inches 32
- 4: 39 inches 36
- 5: 42 inches 42
- 6: 47 inches 48
- 7: 51 inches 60
- 8: 53 inches 66
- 10: 55 inches 74
- 12: 57.5 inches 84
- 14: 60 inches 96
- 16: 62 inches 110
Tips/Pattern info:
- *** Important pattern printing tip*** When printing the pattern, do not print directly from Google docs. Download the pattern to your computer and open it in the free adobe reader program. Choose auto/portrait landscape and select “print actual size.” (If you use any other pdf printing program, I can’t guarantee your pattern will print to the correct size.)
- Seam allowances are 1/4 inch unless otherwise stated.
- The fabric chart includes 1/4 yard for fabric ties. For Faster assembly, you could use store-bought bias tape. (You need about 66 inches.)
Learn how to make a Pillowcase Dress w/ this free Pillowcase Dress pattern and tutorial.
Lets get started!
Products used and recommended in this post:
- My favorite shops fabric are Fabric.com, girl charlie and Stylish Fabrics. (My fave for knits is Funkalicious Fabrics.)
- My Sewing Machine: SINGER 9960 Quantum Stylist 600-Stitch Machine with Extension Table, Bonus Accessories and Hard Cover
- My Serger: Brother 1034D 3 or 4 Thread Serger my coverstitch: Janome Cover Pro 1000cpx
- Pinking Shears
- Rotary Cutter
- I love my large ruler and large cutting mat, but you may prefer to start of with a smaller Cutting set
- Dritz Dual Purpose Marking Pen
- Fray Check
- Wonder clips (I didn’t use these in the post, but they are just awesome!
Materials Needed to Sew a Pillowcase Dress with a Ruffle:
- Fabric (see chart link below)
- Free Pillowcase Dress/Bodice Pattern
- 1 package of single fold bias tape that coordinates with your main fabric
- Scissors, ruler, iron and other basic sewing supplies
Tips/Pattern info:
- *** Important pattern printing tip*** When printing the pattern, do not print directly from Google docs. Download the pattern to your computer and open it in the free adobe reader program. Choose auto/portrait landscape and select “print actual size.” (If you use any other pdf printing program, I can’t guarantee your pattern will print to the correct size.)
- Seam allowances are 1/4 inch unless otherwise stated.
- The fabric chart includes 1/4 yard for fabric ties. For Faster assembly, you could use store-bought bias tape. (You need about 66 inches.)
Polished Pillowcase Dress Sewing Instructions:
Step 1: Cutting out the pattern pieces.
Main dress pieces:
Measure your child from armpit to how long you want your dress to be. Add 1/2 inch to this number, then subtract 4. Write this final number down. (It is the length of the dress minus the ruffle.
Don’t have a little one to measure for the length of the pillowcase dress? Don’t worry, here is a chart for the armhole to hem measurement. (This is the approximate recommended finished length of a dress for the size noted, hitting at mid-knee. You still need to do the calculations in step 1, which is subtracting for a ruffle or banded hem..)
Armhole to Hem Measurement
- 2t: 15 inches,
- 3t: 16.75 inches,
- 4: 18.5 inches,
- 5: 20.25 inches,
- 6: 21.75 inches.
- 7: 23.25 inches
- 8: 24.25 inches
- 10: 25.25
- 12: 26
- 14: 26.5
- 16: 27.5 inches
Fold the selvages over the to the middle of the fabric.
Line up the bodice pattern so edge that says “fold” is on the fold of the fabric.
To draw out the dress pattern, place your measuring tape or ruler at the lower corner of the armhole and measure down to your measurement to the edge of the fabric. Use a fabric marker to mark along this line. Then with a ruler, make a straight line back over to the fold. Cut out the pattern piece.
Use the 1st pattern piece as a guide to cut out the second piece.
Ruffle:
Cut two strips of fabric, selvage to selvage 8.5 inches tall. (These strips will be about 42 by 8.5.)
Fabric tie:
Cut one strip of fabric 4 inches tall by the width of the fabric, cut a 2nd piece 4 inches tall by 23 inches wide.
Step 2: Assembling the dress and finishing armholes.
Line up the front and back piece, right sides together and sew along the sides. You will need to finish these seams with pinking shears, zig zag stitch on your sewing machine or with a serger.
When it comes to sleeveless tops, I have trouble folding fabric on a curve and making it look good, so I like to use single fold bias tape to make perfect armholes. For this method cut 2 pieces of single fold bias tape to about 16 inches each. Turn dress right side out and open bias tape up. Align the edge of the bias tape up with the edge of the armhole as shown below, pin in place.
Keep going until you have pinned the bias tape around the entire armhole.
Sew along the fold of the bias tape (about 1/4 inch in.)
Fold the bias tape back up and over to the other side.
Pin in place and sew right along the edge of the bias tape. Repeat for the other armhole.
Press the side seams and armholes flat.
Step 3: Creating the casing.
Fold the top edge of the dress over 1/4 and press.
Fold over another inch and press again. Sew along the bottom edge of the fold. Repeat on the other side of the dress.
Step 4: Create and add the ruffle.
Place the two fabric strips right sides together and cut off the selvage edges. Sew the strips together end to end so you have a very large circle. Iron these seams open. (I used my serger and could only iron them to the side..)
Fold the fabric circle in half, wrong sides together, and iron flat. (Wow, I obviously need to replace my ironing board cover… We have very hard water and I use steam quite a bit.)
To create the ruffle, change your stitch length setting to the highest setting. Sew a straight stitch along the open edge of the fabric circle. Do not back stitch.
To ruffle the fabric, pull on the bobbin string in one direction while pushing the fabric in the other direction. The father will start to gather up. Keep pulling/pushing the fabric and thread, making sure to distribute the gathers evenly.
The flash makes it difficult to see what is going on, here is a photo from a different tutorial. You can see a little better how the ruffle is gathering up.:
Keep gathering the ruffle until the ruffle is the same width as the bottom of the skirt.
Line up the edge of the ruffle with the bottom edge of the dress as shown below and pin in place.
Make sure you have switched the stitch length back to normal and sew the ruffle to the skirt by sewing along the bottom edge about 1/4 inch from the edge.
Finish this seam with pinking shears, zig zag stitch on sewing machine or with a serger.
Flip dress to the front and iron the finished seam, pointed up. Top stitch the ruffle along the bottom of the dress as shown in the photo below.
Step 5: Creating the tie:
Sew the 2 fabric strips together so you have about a 62 to 65 inch long strip of fabric. Cut off the selvage ends.
Fold and iron the strip as shown in the photos below:
Tuck in the ends and sew along the edge.
Thread the tie through the casing, and you are done! Now go find a sweet little princess to try on your creation and take some pictures!!!
Don’t forget to check out all the pillowcase dress options here!
Learn how to sew a Pillowcase Dress with this free pattern & tutorial! Pattern fits girl’s size 2 to 16. Step 1: Cutting out the pattern pieces. Measure your child from armpit to how long you want your dress to be. Add 1/2 inch to this number, then subtract 4. Write this final number down. (It is the length of the dress minus the ruffle. If you don’t have a child to measure you can use the approximate measurements provided in the fabric chart here. The fabric amounts are based on these numbers.) Fold the selvages over the to the middle of the fabric. Line up the bodice pattern so edge that says “fold” is on the fold of the fabric. To draw out the dress pattern, place your measuring tape or ruler at the lower corner of the armhole and measure down to your measurement to the edge of the fabric. Use a fabric marker to mark along this line. Then with a ruler, make a straight line back over to the fold. Cut out the pattern piece. Use the 1st pattern piece as a guide to to cut out the second piece. Cut two strips of fabric, selvage to selvage 8.5 inches tall. (These strips will be about 42 by 8.5.) Fabric tie: Cut one strip of fabric 4 inches tall by the width of the fabric, cut a 2nd piece 4 inches tall by 23 inches wide. Line up the front and back piece, right sides together and sew along the sides. You will need to finish these seams with pinking shears, zig zag stitch on your sewing machine or with a serger. When it comes to sleeveless tops, I have trouble folding fabric on a curve and making it look good, so I like to use single fold bias tape to make perfect armholes. For this method cut 2 pieces of single fold bias tape to about 16 inches each. Turn dress right side out and open bias tape up. Align the edge of the bias tape up with the edge of the armhole as shown below, pin in place. Keep going until you have pinned the bias tape around the entire armhole. Sew along the fold of the bias tape (about 1/4 inch in.) Fold the bias tape back up and over to the other side. Pin in place and sew right along the edge of the bias tape. Repeat for the other armhole. Press the side seams and armholes flat. Fold the top edge of the dress over 1/4 and press. Fold over another inch and press again. Sew along the bottom edge of the fold. Repeat on the other side of the dress. Place the two fabric strips right sides together and cut off the selvage edges. Sew the strips together end to end so you have a very large circle. Iron these seams open. (I used my serger and could only iron them to the side, which is fine.) Fold the fabric circle in half, wrong sides together, and iron flat. To create the ruffle, change your stitch length setting to the highest setting. Sew a straight stitch along the open edge of the fabric circle. Do not back stitch. To ruffle the fabric, pull on the bobbin string in one direction while pushing the fabric in the other direction. The father will start to gather up. Keep pulling/pushing the fabric and thread, making sure to distribute the gathers evenly. Keep gathering the ruffle until the ruffle is the same width as the bottom of the skirt. Line up the edge of the ruffle with the bottom edge of the dress as shown below and pin in place. Make sure you have switched the stitch length back to normal and sew the ruffle to the skirt by sewing along the bottom edge about 1/4 inch from the edge. Finish this seam with pinking shears, zig zag stitch on sewing machine or with a serger. Flip dress to the front and iron the finished seam, pointed up. Top stitch along the bottom of the dress/top of the ruffle. Sew the 2 fabric strips together so you have about a 62 to 65 inch long strip of fabric. Cut of the selvage ends. Fold and iron the strip (see image🙂 Tuck in the ends and sew along the edge. Thread the tie through the casing, and you are done!How to make a Pillowcase Dress (free Pillowcase Dress pattern sz 2 to 16)
Materials
Tools
Instructions
Main dress pieces:
Step 2: Assembling the dress and finishing armholes.
Step 3: Creating the casing.
Step 4: Create and add the ruffle.
Step 5: Creating the tie:
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Anne Weaver says
I love all the options for making the design your own! I've scheduled a link on Craft Gossip to go live tomorrow morning that links out to your tutorial.
leighlaurelstudios.com says
Finally! I've been searching around for a really good pillowcase dress pattern and tutorial and was just about to suck it up and devise one myself. And here it is in my Bloglovin' this morning. The variations are genius. Thank you! When I make one I'll put it on my blog (www.leighlaurelstudios.com) and of course link to you with all sorts of kind comments. 🙂
Cheers!
Karin
Cathy says
I love this dress – it is so versatile and so cute…. I have made these for my granddaughter and you just can't get too many of them with all thier design options… great tutorial….
Jamie says
Thanks, Cathy! Can't wait to see your version!
~Jamie
Robin says
What type of fabric do you use and if it is %100 cotton do you wash it first. I have quilted some but have never sewed any clothing and my 6 yr old granddaughter keeps asking when I am going to sew her a dress help please! Thanks R
Jamie Sanders says
Little girls are so sweet, If you get the fabric print right she’ll wear it all the time, lol! Cotton works fine for this pattern and do prewash it.
Life With The Crust Cut Off says
This looks awesome!!! We would love it if you would link up at our linky party Parrish @ Life with the Crust Cut Off
Linda Young says
So cute! Thanks for your clear instructions and my granddaughters will be happy to have a little dress or two! Your little models are very pretty and did a great job too!
Have a wonderful summer! Linda
A Thrifter in Disguise says
This is such a good idea. I love the ruffle. I'm totally going to do this! Your instructions and pics are amazing. Thanks so much! | Kristen
Theresa says
Hi Jamie, I love pillow case dresses. Yours turned out great. Visiting from DearCreatives.com Theresa Happy Summer
Marla says
Very cute! love the top with the leggings. My 5 year old has told me she no longer wants to wear pillowcase dresses…but maybe I could get her to wear one like that! 🙂
Faye Hadfield says
I love pillowcase dresses and I especially love yours with all the extra bits added in, a new dress every day! Fabulous! Thank you for sharing x
Rachel @ The Philosophers Wife says
Oh my gosh, this is fantastic! After our big move I will be making some of these for my daughter!
Heidi @ Happiness is Homemade says
These are fantastic! I might have to make a couple of these for my niece!
Jean Poylini says
What a lovely dress. Like it.
Lauren says
Thanks for this tutorial! I'm going to alter it a bit to have a ruffle on the neckline, but the rest of it is exactly what I was looking for! Glad your site came up in my google search 🙂
American Girl in Japan says
I am so thrilled that I found your site! Thank you for your tutorials. I'm making the chevron quilt now :). This pattern is just so cute for my daughter. Thanks again!
randi h says
A little bit of confusion here. When you take your ruler and measure the length of the dress, your cut out fabric shows it goes straight for about 6 inches and then angles outward. But the picture with the ruler shows that the dress is angled from the armhole. Could you clarify this please. Thanks so much.
Jamie says
Measure fom the bottom of the arm hole to get the correct measurement. But follow the shape of the bodice pattern and just angle the cut. The longer the dress, the more pronounced that angle will be. (My daughter is very tall) The design of a pillowcase dress is very flexible/forgiving so dont worry too much about it…
Good luck,
Jamie
ziemkes says
I had one question about attaching the contrasting band at the bottom. Are you to make a large circle as you show with the ruffle and then stitch it to the dress at the end? Or do you add the band one side at a time before sewing up the side seams? Thanks for your help!
ziemkes says
When you attach the contrasting band to the bottom of the dress, do you sew the ends together and attach at the end, as you do with the ruffle? Any help would be appreciated!
Jamie says
Hi, I attach the contrasting band to the main fabric before sewing the side seam. It makes it a bit easier this way. Let me know if you have any more questions.
~ Jamie
Carolyn Hueston says
What a great pattern! What size do you think I should make for a little girl about to turn 2? She lives overseas and I can't get measurements. Thanks!
Jamie says
Hi Carolyn, make the smallest size and use the approximate finished length measurements found in this chart:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-anuQarF1_sk/Uc3zc-hGaQI/AAAAAAAAQQg/vsNniI8BYfA/s1600/fabric+requirements.JPG
If you are adding a ruffle or contrasting band, don't forget to subtract out the height of the band/ruffle and add in seam allowances. (It always helps me to draw a little diagram. Good luck!
~Jamie
Richie Lou says
How much did you take off for the length of the shorter one, or do you have a pattern for the top/tunic length?
Kirsty says
Hi what material did you use?
Can you use poly cotton
Thanks
Jamie says
Definitely- almost any fabric will work with this style dress.
Veritable Lodge Southeast Alaska says
I used your tutorial to make a pillowcase princess dress for my daughter today. Thank you so much.
Christy Shields says
Im a little confused the width of fabric that would be what is across the dress soo 44″ across but folded in half so that would be 22 inches across is that correct 22 for the front 22 for the back? Now is that for a child whose age is 10 would that 22″ be wide enough?
Jamie says
The instructions state: “Fabric requirements will vary based on the style you choose and size. Â For a bigger girl, (dress size 6 and up,) you might wish to add width to your pillowcase dress, which will double the amount of fabric needed.
Notice how our size 6 dress is kind of narrow in width? Â I opted NOT to use extra fabric and could only make the skirt as wide as the fabric, which was about 42 inches.”
For a size 10 child, you will definitely want to double the amount of fabric used, so you can make a wider dress. This tutorial does not calculate the width for a size 10 dress. I found this pattern for sale on etsy that goes up to a girls size 14: http://tidd.ly/1d33879
Good luck!
Jamie says
At some point in time, I might redo this pattern to include larger sizes, but I have no plans to do this in the immediate future.
jantucker1958 says
Thank You so much this pattern looks fabulous. Can’t wait to try it.
charitywhite12 says
Thanks for the detailed instructions, I am going to give it a try.
Jamie says
You can do it!
Iris Hasis says
Thank you for sharing!!!
I maid it!!! So easy!!!
Jamie Sanders says
Yay! I love hearing that!
Doris says
I made these dresses for four of our granddaughters in no time at all using scraps in my closet! Simple and cute!
Debbie says
My Granddaughter and I are making this dress for her. I’m going to make the straight band at the bottom. Is that a 4″ wide cut by the length of the front and then another 4″ length for the back, sewn to the main part of the dress with a 1/4″ seam and then sew down the sides, joining the front and the back together. Is the bottom finish hem a double 1/4″ turn up ?
Thank You,
Debbie
Jamie Sanders says
Yes.
Margaret Van Zee says
Thank-you, I had made pillowcase dresses a couple years ago using your pattern, but needed to have refresher on the how. Pleasant surprise to find the larger size, just what I needed. I am making them to go with Christmas shoe-boxes to go for needy children. I do not know what country.
Debby says
Do you have any instructions for making the tie in the back of the dress? Thank you!
Jamie Sanders says
I don’t, but if you read through the instructions for this dress, it is very similar and you could get an idea how to modify it: Ladies Lounge dress tutorial
Paula Smith says
Hi Jamie
Just wondering if you had made the pillowcase dress with the elastic waist. My granddaughter loves the pattern but asked about gathering the waist. Could you give me instruction on how best to do this, and if I would have to add to the length? Thankyou.
Paula
Jamie Sanders says
I have not, but my recommendation would be to add a casing similar to what is shown in this photo: here