Introduction: Party Dress for a Corgi
Hi Guys and Gals...This is my first instructable and I'm very excited about it. I haven't sewn in over a decade and just bought myself a sewing machine and wanted to see what I can do. I have an adorable Corgi that loves to wear clothes, but she's in between sizes so finding cute outfits for her isn't always easy! I decided I'd try making a dress for her (for her birthday coming up next month)
I'm in no way a professional seamstress, and the making of this dress wasn't used with any templates or copying a design. As far as I know this 100% original and of my own personal tastes and creativity (though I got the idea for the flower from a fellow creative online). With that said, I hope you enjoy. Let's get started making a dress for a Large-XL size Corgi :-D
I'm in no way a professional seamstress, and the making of this dress wasn't used with any templates or copying a design. As far as I know this 100% original and of my own personal tastes and creativity (though I got the idea for the flower from a fellow creative online). With that said, I hope you enjoy. Let's get started making a dress for a Large-XL size Corgi :-D
Step 1: Create Pattern - Cut Out
For the fabric of the dress I used my boyfriends old T-shirts. A white T-shirt and (a black T-shirt for trim and details). Depending on the size of your dog, bigger shirts are always best...
Measure your dog, and create a pattern of the kind of dress you'd like to make.
Take the fabric (white T-shirt) and lay it out on the table. Take your dress patterns and pin them to the fabric. (you should have one front piece, back piece and a 'skirt' piece -I folded them in half to make it easier to keep things even. Don't cut along fold. Now you should have 3 pieces of white fabric cut out in to the shapes of your patterns.
Measure your dog, and create a pattern of the kind of dress you'd like to make.
Take the fabric (white T-shirt) and lay it out on the table. Take your dress patterns and pin them to the fabric. (you should have one front piece, back piece and a 'skirt' piece -I folded them in half to make it easier to keep things even. Don't cut along fold. Now you should have 3 pieces of white fabric cut out in to the shapes of your patterns.
Step 2: Add the Skirt
Once my pattern pieces were cut out, I attached some lace and some decorative stitching and made the ruffle for the skirt. Take the skirt piece and baste to the largest pattern piece... Make sure to leave room with the thread before cutting. Take the thread and pull to 'gather' the fabric until desired amount. Stitch to the 'back' of the dress (larger piece of the pattern) right sides together.
Grab your model for a quick look see. :-)
Step 3: Time to Decorate
Now is when I got a little creative and added some details to the dress. I added a nice decorative stitch, created a 'high waist line belt' (folded black fabric strips) and some more lace to my liking.
I then basted the 'front' and 'back' together and tried it on my model. My first stitch (pictured) was a tad snug. Remove basting.
I then basted the 'front' and 'back' together and tried it on my model. My first stitch (pictured) was a tad snug. Remove basting.
Step 4: Refining the Edges
Took cut strips of black fabric and decorated the tops and bottoms of the 'front' and 'back' pieces. Pin. Sew. Repeat.
Step 5: Black Fabric Flowers
I took a few minutes out to make some beautiful fabric flowers out of the scraps of black fabric left over.
Depending on the size of the flowers..
-Cut 5 circles in any size you choose (smaller ones are much easier...)
-Once cut, fold each circle in half and then in half again (you'll end up with triangles)
-Machine (or hand) baste along the longer edge of each piece.
-Pull the thread (like with the skirt) and attach all 5 scrunched up petals together in a circle.
-(to make the center of the flower...) cut a long strip of fabric and roll tightly. Hand sew to prevent from unraveling.
-Attach the center to the petals and there you have it! A perfect flower! (make as many as you want- I made a small (used a cup for size) and a large flower (used a CD for size)
Step 6: Arm Holes
Grabbed my model one more time to see where I'd like the flower to go... :-)
For the arm holes I took the bottom hem of the white T-shirt and pinned to my pattern piece. Sew. Removed pins and folded edge over seam. Sew. Do this with all 4 arm hold sides
Step 7: Shoulder-Side Seams
Now it's time to sew together the sides. Right sides together.
Next sew the shoulder seams together. As this being my first impromptu dress, the shoulder seams needed to be cut at a diagonal to fit properly and not have a 'boxy' squared off look. Cut threads.
Almost done!
Next sew the shoulder seams together. As this being my first impromptu dress, the shoulder seams needed to be cut at a diagonal to fit properly and not have a 'boxy' squared off look. Cut threads.
Almost done!
Step 8: Finishing Touches
Last but not least, hand sew the fabric flowers to the front and back of the dress. The smaller flower at the neck and the larger flower at the back above the ruffle skirt.
Fin.
I hope you enjoyed my very first dog dress!!
Thanks!