Raglan Dress tutorial from a free pattern

Todays tutorial is a Raglan Dress Tutorial made from my own free raglan shirt pattern. The free pattern comes in size 18 mths – 6T and I hope you will be able to use it! Either as a shirt or turn it into this super cute dress. Make sure to check out all my Free sewing patterns here.

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Raglan Dress Tutorial –

Here’s another version of the raglan dress tutorial.. to make this one, just use 2 of the back side as described below..

I used a combination of woven and knit fabric on this raglan dress tutoril and I love the outcome. You can make it tunic length or a full dress. The front of the dress has the knit fabric as a yoke at the top, this is to keep the stretch and allow the shirt to pull over your childs’ head.

The back is full woven with the neckline gathered before putting on the neck binding.  Pair this dress with a cute pair of leggings and you are all set. Don’t have a legging pattern? You are in luck! Next week I’ll be releasing a free legging pattern for 18mths-10 years… so make sure and stop back to grab your free pattern.

Alright… you can find the free pattern and sizing chart here. Go and print it, as always.. make sure to print your pattern at 100% or actual size on your printer AND always check the 1″ box on the pattern.  A 1/2 yard of knit and 1 yard of woven should be enough, but may vary depending on the width of your fabric. Cut the sleeves in the knit. Now, cut the front of the shirt dividing the shirt at the bottom of the arm hole. **NOTE- you must OVERLAP your fabrics by 3/8″ for the seam allowance. I cut my knit this much lower than the bottom of the arm** If you don’t want to make the front two pieces you can make two like the back. This is how I made the pink one in the photo above.

For the knit bottom half, I used the pattern as the guide and cut the fabric almost 2x as wide as the pattern. You can adjust the fullness based on your taste.

The length you will cut based on your desired dress length. Measure you child from under the arm, and add 1 1/2″ to that length for the hem allowance. Here is how my pieces look compared to the original shirt pattern piece.

Ok, now for the back. I folded the fabric in half, then lined up the pattern with the fold. Slide the pattern over about 6 inches from the edge. { I would go less for the smaller sizes, this is a 5t} Cut the neck from the point to the center following the pattern, then go straight to the fabric fold.

 Extend the bottom to the same length as the front of the dress.

Gather the back neck to match the size of the pattern piece.

Gather the FRONT bottom piece to match the width of the FRONT top piece. Sew the two front pieces together, right sides together. Pin the knit in several places to prevent stretching.

Top stitch along the top yoke, turning the seam allowance up and stitching in place.

Sew the sleeves to the shirt back, right sides together.

Turn to the front and sew the sleeves to the front, right sides together.

Cut a neck ribbing from ribbing fabric or knit with good stretch. Cut it 2″ wide and then measure around the neck. I usually make it about 1″ less than the neck.

Sew the two short ends of the ribbing together, then fold in half. Stretch and pin around the neck, sew right sides together. Top-stitch with a knit stitch around the neck.

the back view…

Pin the sleeves and sides together and sew the side seams.

Now you are finished except for the sleeve and bottom hems. Check the length at this point and adjust.

Turn 1/4″ under or use a serger to finish the bottom hem, then turn 1″ and sew around. I like to sew twice around for a double hem.

On the sleeve, turn 1″ and sew with a zig-zag, knit stitch or use a double needle with woolly nylon in the bobbin. It’s my new favorite sewing supply and it gives the stitch a great stretch! You can buy at most fabric stores, and then I wind onto the bobbin.

I love the way the double stitch looks on the sleeve.

And there you go! I can’t wait to see what your Raglan dress looks like. Please e-mail me at lifesewsavory@gmail.com if you have questions while making this! I’m happy to help.

Here a few other dress patterns for girls you may enjoy-

A-Line Free Dress Pattern and Tank

Girl and Doll Circle Dress pattern

Daddy Shirt to Girls Dress