Bubble Dress

Prepare the fabric for the bubble dress

• Cut the fabric in a dress shape (use the dimensions of an existing dress)
  • The front of the top part,
  • The back of the top part.  This part will be separated in two pieces leaving 2 cm in the middle for the piece of fabric for the button hole.
  • A big rectangle for the skirt part.

• Cut the lining :
  • The front of the upper part of the dress + the top part of the top part of the skirt (less than 10 cm),
  • The two pieces of the back part + the top part of the skirt less than 10 cm.

• Sew the sides of the upper part (the fabric not the lining)

• With an iron, make a fold of 2 cm on both parts of the upper part of the dress (the back- this is where the button hole will eventually go).

Pleats of the bubble dress

• Mark where the pleats in the skirt will be to the point where, when the skirt is officially pleated, the skirt's width matches the bottom of the top part.

• Place pins in each pleat to verify the width of the skirt part.

• With the sewing machine, make the pleats- all sewing is done on the inside of the skirt.

• To ensure the length of the pelats are the same, draw a long line a cerain ways down the skirt (depending how long you want the pleats to be) and stop sewing every time you reach it.

Assemble the bubble dress

• Assemble the pleated part of the skirt and the top part of the dress and sew where eventually the belt will be.

• Add the ribbon.

• Sew the sides of the lining together.

• On the outside of the skirt, sew the two threads for gathering into the bottom (as shown below).

• Regularly gather the fabric by pulling on the two threads with the objective of making it the same length as the bottom of the lining.

• Assemble the bottom of the skirt and the bottom of the lining.

• Sew neatly in between the two gathering threads and then remove the gathering threads once all is properly attached.

• This is what the area should look like now:

• Assemble the rest of the dress- the outside part with the lining being careful not to sew down the middle of the back.

• Turn it inside out carefully, making sure the straps are lined up to be sewn next.

• Now sew the straps last.  0.2 cm on the border of the neckline and shoulders.

Finishing touches to the bubble dress

• Carefully sew the opening on the top of the dress (where the back of the top part of the dress is cut in two).

• Close the opening that was left open for the dress to be turned inside out with tiny stitches.

• Now sew the button hole and the button.