I’ve finally got a new sewing tutorial for you! This maxi dress pattern for girls is an easy sewing tutorial that used a t-shirt as the top for an extra simple DIY maxi dress sewing tutorial.
Maxi Dress Pattern – sewing tutorial for girls
First of all, could she be any cuter??? She’s never really had a long maxi style dress like this before and she was loving this one today while I was taking the photos. I never let my kids wear their new homemade clothes until I take photos…{haha!} minimize any dirt and wear. I started with a t-shirt that I stenciled on one of my FB live shows... You can make this with a long or short sleeve shirt and I will be making another long sleeve version.
For the skirt I did the width of fabric for bother the front and the back of the skirt. Depending on the length of your skirt you will need 1-2 yards of fabric. 
The back has such a cute tie. You can make the sash longer for a bow if you want. We just have a tie back.
OK! If you are ready to make this maxi dress pattern grab a t-shirt {long or short sleeves} and your fabric. I had 1 yard for the skirt.. {I cut it in half so I had two panels of 18 x 42 width of fabric}. Cut your shirt off 4″ from the under arms. Measure the length you want your skirt from the bottom of the shirt. Add 2″ for seam and hem allowance. The length of your skirt will determine how much fabric you need. If you need a 25″ skirt {including allowance} you will need 50″ total of fabric… this about 1.5 yards… 
Take your 2 skirt panels… they should be the width of fabric and as long as you determined by measuring. Mine are 18″ long x width of fabric. 
With right sides together sew the two sides seams of the skirt to create a circle. 
Cut a sash from another fabric or the same fabric. It should be the width of fabric and 4″ wide. If you want a LONG sash you will need longer than width of fabric.
Fold in half with right sides together and sew one short end and the long side. 
Turn through the open short end and then tuck in the raw edges and sew. Press your sash flat for best results. 
Hem the bottom edge of the skirt by pressing under 1/4″ and then another 1/2″.
Stitch around the bottom of the skirt. 
You will now want to gather the skirt. If you need tips on gathering you can check out this post on 5 ways to gather fabric. Gather the skirt until it is 1-2″ wider than the t-shirt. This will allow it to go over the shoulders. 
Strech and pin the skirt to the t-shirt. Matching the side seams. Sew with a 3/8 allowance.
Stitch the shirt and skirt together. Serge or zig zag to finish the edge and trim seam allowance. 
Now hold the sash up to your child…. Measure from their side to side. Mark those sides and line up those marks with the side seams. I may be smaller than the dress front, but the sash is was brings it all together. Place the sash on the side seams half on the shirt and half on the skirt. 
Sew the sash at each side seam.
Tie in the back and you are ready to go!! 
Rose thought this dress was also good for jumping and twirling and these pictures are a good example of why she doesnt’ wear dresses like this!! HAHA!!! I can’t wait to use this maxi dress pattern to make her a long sleeve version for winter.. maybe with a flannel skirt!! Who’s with me??
here are a couple other free dress patterns I’ve shared in the past.
Sherri says
Hi!
Thank you for this tutorial. My son’s daughters only wear maxi dresses and he recently had a Tornado destroy his house and a lot of their clothes.
I’ve never seen, but I was able to do this 🙂
Since these will be daily wear for them and they are very active, I was wondering if there’s an easy way to incorporate elastic?
I just somehow picture them popping seam at school and ending up without a dress bottom 😯😅
Thank you for any advice.
Shannon says
I’ve saved this Pin for a couple of years now I think and I finally made it yesterday! It only took a couple of hours and it was DONE! I’m so thrilled how it turned out! I made a few adjustments since my girl is 9 and she loves it too! I used a dark pink rose print for the skirt and attached a flower charm with a bee on it to the t-shirt to complete the outfit. No sash. May figure out how to make a headband or something to complete the ensemble.
Hina says
Hi,
I just stumbled upon this and I love it! Thank you so much for sharing.
I have an 8 year old daughter I would love to make this for. Can you tell me what kind of fabric works best for the skirt?
Thank you!