Crafty Tuesday: Make Mock Smock Dress in 20 Minutes!

I have a sewing machine and I sort of know how to use it.  I started sewing three years ago and honestly, patterns confuse me.  If it weren’t for Skyping my mother-in-law who lives 3,000 miles away I would never be able to finish a sewing project.  She has an amazing ability to help me through live video.  So when I say the Mock Smock dress is incredibly easy and it didn’t entail a call for help….you know it has to be easy!

The Mock Smock fabric is sold at JoAnn Fabric and Craft Stores and has a very expensive price tag at close to $18 per yard.  The frugalista in my could never pay $18 a yard for fabric for a little girl’s dress.  Coupons ARE great!  I was able to use a 50% fabric coupon paired with a 10% total purchase coupon to bring the cost of the fabric down tremendously.  For a yard of the Mock Smock fabric I paid about $8.55, which is on par with what a store bought dress would cost.

Materials Required to Make a Mock Smock Dress

• Measuring Tape
• Mock Smock Material
• Sewing Machine (although, you could hand stitch it……it would be a lot more work, but it is possible)
• Thread
• Straight Pins
• Ribbon and lighter (optional)

Make a Mock Smock Dress

1) Determine how much fabric you will need.  Measure you child around her chest.  Subtract an inch or two since the fabric is stretchy.

2) Once you have purchased your Mock Smock fabric (using Craft Store Coupons!) pin the edges together.

3) Sew a seam from the top of the dress to the bottom of the dress.  I told you it was easy!!!

Now, your dress could be done at this point and you are only five minutes in to the project.  It would look like this:

4) Honestly, my daughter is three and I am not ready for her to wear tops that aren’t secured to her body.  😉  Making ribbon straps was so easy!   In the photo above you can see pink pins.  I poked them through at the front and back of her shoulders so I knew where to sew the ribbon.

5) To sew the ribbon on take a really long piece (18’ish inches) and sew it on the front and back where you marked with pins.  I used one piece of ribbon per side and cut in in the middle when I was done.  I then used a lighter to heat seal the edges so they will not fray.

You can simply tie a knot in the ribbon……..

Or you can tie a cutesie bow!

This is THE EASIEST sewing craft! Since the top and the bottom of the dress are already finished it only requires sewing one seam. Using coupons to bring the cost of this fabric down to the price of a dress in a department store makes it incredibly affordable.

Have you made any fun crafts lately?  We would love to see!!!!  We would also love to have you as a guest poster.  Send us an email if you are interested.