Baby Doll Dress Pattern – Peasant Dress Tutorial

Hey y’all – today I’m sharing a peasant dress tutorial. I’ve been wanting do do a dress version of my free peasant top for a while, and I had juuuust barely enough of this fabric left over from a Los Angeles shopping trip to make a baby doll style dress.

Instead of a casing like the original pattern, I used elastic thread to shirr the neckline and sleeves.

For these photos, the boys and I were in this field and we took some photos and I just kept thinking there was something missing when it finally dawned on me to

To make the dress, start with the free Peasant Top pattern. Then trace it off and make 3 slash marks angled out from the neckline. Cut through the marks almost to but not through the neckline, so that you can spread the pieces apart. I spread the pieces so they’re 1″ apart at the bottom. Then cut your dress, angling the side seam and adding length until you get to the length you want for the dress (or the end of your fabric, as was my case).

The other modification I made was to the sleeve. I drew a shortened sleeve as shown above. Make sure the skinny parts are at least 1″ wide for later.

Sew the dress following the same instructions as for the top.

Finally, instead of sewing the casing, I finished the neck and sleeves with rolled hems and then shirred with elastic thread. I did 4 rows for the neck edge and then 2 for the sleeves. And that’s it!

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