TUTO: SCARF DRESS

It's DIY o'clock! To make the most of the summer weather, here's a tutorial that's a little more ambitious, but accessible to all! (It's a 3-in-1 tutorial: the final version is a halter dress created from vintage scarves found on @leboncoin, but the icing on the cake is that you can stop along the way to make just a skirt, and if you only want the halter top, that's possible too!
Don't hesitate to use old scarves, it's a perfect recycling for those with a few stains, holes ... And, we don't throw anything away: with the cut pieces, you can sew again! Chouchou, little bags, ... the possibilities are endless 💫


👉Note :
The dress consists of a halter top with a single scarf, which ties at the neck with a ribbon, and at the back with two ends of the scarf.
Then a petticoat with a 1st part that reaches the knee, and a gathered flounce. We chose to gather very little, just enough to give the petticoat some movement.
You can modify it as you wish: make a single part (short petticoat), several flounces, increase or decrease the gathers, the total length... It's a DIY that adapts to different morphologies, so try it out and choose what you like!
Here, we've used 5 scarves for the petticoat (and again 5 scarves for the ruffle).
If you'd like less gathering at the waist and less amplitude, you can reduce the number of scarves, for example to 3 - also test according to your waist size.
If you want a more gathered ruffle, you can use 5 scarves for the first part, and 6 for the ruffle.
All seam allowances are 1cm unless otherwise stated. Let's get started!

For this DIY, you need : 
  • mottled scarves (here 10 for the underskirt + 1 for the top)
  • 3 cm high flat elastic band
  • ribbon (2.5 cm high, approx. 1.30 m long)
  • safety pin
  • erasable felt-tip pen
  • sewing machine
  • pins
  • scissors (notched if possible, especially if your scarves are silk)
What to do?  
Scarf hunting! We advise you to opt for a unity of either patterns or shades (or both!) Here, we've chosen checks and stripes. Choose the order in which they'll be assembled next to each other.Select the scarf you'll reserve for the top. Separate the rest into 2 groups: the 1st part of the underskirt, and the 2nd for the ruffle, for which you'll reserve larger scarves, so that all the scarves in this part are longer than the previous one (this is what makes the gathers possible!). Iron everything.
The skirt Part 1 part
Line up two 1st scarves side by side. Pin them right sides together. Stitch at 1 cm intervals. Continue by lining up a 3rd scarf in a row on the side, stitching it right sides together with the previous one, and so on until you've assembled all your scarves, forming a very long piece of fabric. Don't worry if the bottoms of the scarves don't line up: we're going to correct this now by evening out all the parts.Mark 65 cm from the edge that's precisely aligned, by drawing a line along the entire length of your fabric pieces. This indicates the height of the first piece of your petticoat. If you wish, this can be shorter or longer. Cut along this line. This part will be your dress size. We'll finish it off after we've created the whole underskirt.

Part 2
Now take the 2nd group of scarves to sew the steering wheel. Align them side by side, and on each scarf cut to the desired height for your flounce (here, 22cm). The hem already present on your scarves will form the hem at the bottom of the petticoat, so you'll keep the "scarf spirit" thanks to their rolled edges. Position the thin strips edge to edge, pin them right sides together and stitch them together as before. The result is a very long strip of fabric. Now create the gathering thread on this ruffle: on the cut-out part, which has no hem, machine-stitch in wide stitches, without knotting or going back and forth as you start and finish your seam. Hand-tie one end and at the other, grasp one of the threads and pull gently, while pleating the fabric with your other hand. Proceed slowly, balancing the gathers along the entire length. Measure: stop when you reach the same length as the scarves assembled on the first part of the petticoat.

Assembly
Position the gathered ruffle, right sides together, as shown in the video. Pin in place. Stitch all the way through. Your 2 parts are now assembled! Now join the two ends: stitch right sides together 1 cm apart to sew the side of your skirt.
Measure your waist circumference: subtract 2 cm to obtain the length of flat elastic to cut. Back to the top of the petticoat: pin and stitch a first hem 0.5 cm inwards from the edge, along the entire length. Next, pin, still facing the wrong way, at 4 cm along the entire length. Use 2 pins to mark the side seam of the skirt, leaving a 10 cm opening for the elastic. Stitch everything else at 4 cm, if possible over the previous stitching to make it more aesthetically pleasing. Remove all pins and insert the elastic into this tunnel, using a safety pin as shown. Create gathers by hand, balancing them on the elastic around the waist. Bring out the elastic, lay it on top of each other, and stitch twice along its entire height in small, tight, solid stitches.
Now close the open part by sewing, still at a distance of 4 cm. Distribute the gathers evenly.
Now you can stop here if you only want a skirt!

Otherwise, it's off to the top of the dress: The top.
Take your scarf and fold it into a triangle, wrong sides together. Pin all its free edges together, aligning them well, and stitch to form a triangle only. Sew as close to the edge as possible, at 0.3 cm or 0.5 cm (on existing roulotté). Fold the tip of the triangle inwards by 4 cm, and stitch on either side of the tip. Fold in another 3.5 cm and pin to create a loop for the neck ribbon. Stitch in a straight line at 3 cm. Insert the ribbon with a safety pin. Your top is ready! The back can be tied with the two ends of the scarf. Depending on your morphology, you can add ribbon on either side for tying.

The dress
Place the top on the underskirt, matching the waistband by choosing which part of the skirt you'd like to have in front. Turn the underskirt inside out. Pin the top to the underside of the petticoat and hand-sew all the way around, leaving the two ends to be tied at the back free.
Turn over and ...  

 And ... TA-DA !!! 

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