Let’s make this Poppy Dress, shall we? The dress portion is very easy and
sews together quickly. While adding the poppies takes longer, it’s a great
touch!
You’ll Need:
-fabric (how much depends on your measurements you’ll get below) *I used
white cotton fabric, but the turquoise you see pictured behind Miss B would look
great with orange poppies! **Please note: thicker fabrics and doubled
layers tend to shirr a lot less, so the thinner your fabric, the better it will
shirr**
-orange thread
-thread matching fabric
-elastic thread
-marking tool, optional
-felt (or other fabric—You will want to pre-wash your felt and see how it
reacts to washing, and also any shrinkage that may occur. Mine was just the
cheap stuff from Walmart)
-lighter
-tweezers
-fusible interfacing (I didn’t use any, but it might be good to back the
sewn-on poppies)
Take your measurements. B is 2 1/2, but a little large for her age. I’ll
give you the information you need to make this dress for any size, but also the
dimensions I used for my dress.
FOR THE DRESS PORTION:
First, measure around the chest, just under the arms. B’s was about 21”.
This is for the large rectangle used for the dress portion. Add at least half
that number. **Remember, it is better to add more than less, depending on how
tight your fabric shirrs.**
Next, determine the length you need. I wanted to make a dress, so I measured
from her neckline to her knee, giving me about 17”. You could shorten it for a
shirt. Add about two inches to that measurement for hemming.
I only added one inch to the length measurement because I planned on using
the selvage edge for the top of the dress.
SO, for the dress portion I cut a 32” x 18” rectangle.
FOR THE SHOULDER STRAPS:
Measure from just below the armpit in the front, to just below the armpit in
the back. B’s was about 11”. This is for the shoulder straps. Add at least
half that measurement to the length. Also determine the width you would like.
I wanted 3” wide straps, so I cut my two strap pieces 4” x 16”. 
Ok, now that your fabric is cut, let’s move on! 
If the top edge of your dress fabric piece isn’t the selvage edge, then fold
over 1/4”, then another 1/4” and sew. You could also serge, then fold down 1/2”
and sew. 
Since I used the selvage edge, I just started to shirr. Wrap the elastic
thread around the bobbin, not too tight, but not too loose. Research online to
see if your machine is the best candidate for shirring this way. *Shirring is
VERY easy! Don’t be afraid of it! HERE is
a great tutorial for you from Disney of Ruffles and Stuff. Set your thread
length to the longest stitch (mine is only a 4). You’ll want to sew on the
RIGHT side of the fabric, so the elastic thread is on the wrong side. I just
used my pressure foot edge to guide how far apart I wanted the shirring lines.
Shirr, shirr, and shirr some more. I left a 1” gap for design after shirring
for rows. Shirr as far down as desired, and whatever pattern you desire. You
might just want to do row after row and not leave a gap, how most dresses are
that have shirring. 
Wrap your now shirred rectangle around the person who will be wearing it and
determine how much you need to take off. Do not cut it until you sew it! You
don’t want to loosen up that elastic thread! After sewing, try it on again to
make sure it’s how you like. Then cut away any excess.
I serged mine, but you could sew it and then zig-zag the raw seam edges if
you are worried about fraying. You can see how I kind of slowly tapered out, so
the bottom portion of the dress under the shirred part was a little bigger. 
Hem the bottom of the dress as desired. 
On to the straps. Fold over the long side 1/4”, then 1/4” again and sew each
long edge. I serged, folded, and then sewed. 
Shirr all or just a part of the sleeves. When you leave it like this
pictured below, you get a nice ruffle on the edge.
Try it on and pin the straps in place, being careful not to poke them with
the pins while taking it off!
Sew straps in place, and the dress is finished. Time to add those poppies!
Take your felt and draw a whole lot of circles.
You can make them whatever size you please, but here is about the size of
mine.
Using the tweezers to hold the circles…
start burning the edges with your lighter. See how the edges are just
slightly darker? 
I like the swiftly burn over the top of the circle as well. It makes it have
more color, plus it starts to curl the circle edges more, making it look more
like a petal, in my opinion. 
Pin them on in place. (If you opted to use fusible interfacing, iron those
on inside the dress where you will be sewing the flowers on.)
Sew a line through each poppy. If you are worried about them being pulled
off, sew around each circle. You could add beads, but I was afraid it would
make it less washer-friendly if I did that. 
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