Sometimes classic costumes are the best. Stef from Girl Inspired is here with a gorgeous Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz dress tutorial. I love the little details!
Check out all the tutorials in the Handmade Costume series.
Hi there, I'm Stef and I blog over at girl. Inspired. I absolutely love making my three girls their Halloween costumes, but this year, I've
succumbed to time pressures and ended up purchasing two of my girls' costumes. When my
seven-year-old told me she wanted to be Dorothy, though, it pulled at my DIY heartstrings a little too
much.
I just couldn't buy a polyester Dorothy dress from the costume aisle. I was pretty sure I could
whip something up quick. And it would have been super fast if I didn't find myself
staring at a million different trims trying to decide what to put where. That really slowed me
down. In the end, I went with my initial instincts and today I'm going to share with you a tutorial
for a dress that you could probably finish in less than an hour. Ready?
You will need the main material and a lining material – I used a really lightweight gingham for the top
layer and muslin for the lining. You will also need three measurements: chest, underarm
to waist, and waist to hemline. Using my daughter's chest measurement, I cut the bodice
pieces. The front bodice piece width should be half the width of the chest measurement + 1/2"
(1/4" seam allowance on each side). To find the height of the bodice piece, measure from the
underarm to the waist, factor in 1/4" seam allowance on the top and 1/2" seam allowance at the waist;
then cut your piece at this length on the sides with a smooth curve up to the center. I hope that's
clear. For the back of the bodice and lining, you will cut a simple rectangle that is the same width
as the bodice front + 2 inches if you are going to add shirring as I did AND the length should be just the
length from underarm to waist plus a total of 3/4" seam allowance.
Stitch your bodice front to the bodice back along each side seam; repeat for lining.
Now, cut your skirt pieces. I wanted a really full skirt so I cut two pieces selvage to selvage
for the main skirt and two pieces selvage to selvage for the lining. The length for the pieces
was determined by measuring from my daughter's waist to just above her knee, with added length
for seam allowances. Join the short ends of the skirt pieces to form two tubes (one main, one
lining). Now, you're going to attach each skirt to its corresponding bodice piece.
Now, we're going to join together the dress and lining and finish the top edge of the bodice all in
one easy step.
If you are making a stretchy little dress that is easy to get on and off, you can use this shirring
method. If you're not familiar with shirring, it really is a cinch! You can read more about
it in my shirring
tutorial.
Now, to add the classic Dorothy buttons, but with an easy halter strap:
Finally, you're going to finish your hems. I loved the idea of having the fluffy petticoat
look underneath the main dress. I had a hard time deciding whether or not to add ric rac
around the main dress hem or to add stripes with red trim toward the bottom of the skirt; in the
end, I just did a plain hem and then added some nice old-fashioned eyelet trim to the hem of the
underskirt.
And that's it! I put the dress over a tulle pettiskirt for extra fluff and added a little white eyelet
bolero that was mine when I was a little girl. Target stocked the glittery shoes and Toto in basket,
thank goodness. I have to say, I'm so glad I took the time to make this costume and my
Olivia is, too!
Thanks for having me, Andrea! I am loving this Handmade Costume Series. There is just so
much fun creativity going on! Happy Halloween!
