Dollar Store Purchases - Doll Party Dress from a Sequin Headband

Party time around here today.  The dollar store purchase transformation for today is how to make a doll party dress from from a sequin headband.  (If you're just joining me, we're having fun last week and this week turning cheap finds from dollar items into cute doll clothes (you can find links to my other tutorials at the bottom of this post).

I found this headband at JoAnn's Fabric and Craft Store. They had a lot of colors to choose from but I chose silver because I knew that I had some pretty shimmery purple fabric and I thought it would make a fancy looking skirt once added to this headband.  I was hoping this project would be easy (which it was) and quick (if I hadn't of hand sewed the skirt to the sequined headband, it would have been quicker).

1.  Put the headband around your doll's upper chest area.  From the back, pin the headband so that it'll stay on your doll.

2.  I hand sewed the back of this headband together while working around the sequins.  Once sewn, cut off the excess headband.

3.  You'll need 30 inches of ribbon to use for the straps on this dress cut into four 10 1/2 inch pieces.   Pin the ribbon onto the headband where you'd like the dress straps to be.  

4.  Hand sew the ribbon onto both sides of the headband.  I sewed the ribbon onto the back side of the elastic and then onto the front side, thus giving it more strength for child style playing.  On the side of the ribbon that you are not sewing onto the headband, it's advisable to add "no fray" onto the edge of the ribbon. 

5.  Cut fabric into a rectangle 12 1/2" x 30" (I wish I had of made mine not as long...I'll suggest a better length as 12 1/2" x 20".)  You might as well learn from my experience making this!  Right?  

6.  Iron fabric before you sew it together.

7.  Sew fabric length together using 3/8" seam.  I sewed two layers together because my fabric was really sheer and I didn't want my doll to be immodest! 

8.  Fold the fabric in half width wise with the seams in the middle.

9.   At the top of the fabric (the side not folded) add a gathering stitch. 

10. Gather the skirt so it fits to the sequin headband which is the bodice of this dress.

11. Pin like crazy to keep these two pieces together.

12. Stretch the headband slightly as you sew the skirt to the bodice from the wrong side.  I found that it was best to hand sew this step.  That way my sewing machine's needle didn't keep hitting those sequins.

13. Turn the skirt right side out and put it onto your doll.  The skirt is now a bubble skirt.  The best part about this skirt is you do not need to hem it.

Don't miss these other dollar store purchases into things for your doll posts: 

  

Day 1 go HERE (Little Miss Santa Outfit).  

Day 2 go HERE (Sweater Dress)

Day 3 go HERE (Leggings) 

Day 4 go HERE (Elf Outfit)

Day 5 go HERE (Doll sleeping bag from a chair cushion & tea towel

Day 6 go HERE (Shorts from shirt sleeves)

Day 7 go HERE (Skirt & scarf from a scarf)

Day 8 go HERE (Party dress using a sequin headband)

Day 9 go HERE (Night Gown from a baby fleece blanket)

Day 10 go HERE (Jacket from a fleece scarf)

xoxo Grandma  -  Linked to: Nap-time Creations