How to Sew a Muslin Dress for a Child? Instructions for Sewing a Muslin Dress + Pattern

Helena Lachowiczová
2024-06-04T12:42:29+02:00

Hello, my dear sewing ladies. Since it's getting warm again and we're slowly shedding all our layers and changing clothes in our children's wardrobes, you're probably wondering what children's muslin dresses you'll be sewing this year.

That's why today I'm here with a tutorial on the Chloe children's muslin dress. I'll show you how easy it is to sew a muslin dress step-by-step, and in this article, I'll give you some good tips from my experience on how to work with muslin.

Here's an older article I wrote last year that is still very popular. Here are general tips on how to sew muslin.

Rules for cutting muslin:

1. iron before cutting

2. sharp scissors that don't pull threads, not a rotary cutter, which pulls threads

3. iron straight lines before cutting and check if they are without stretch

4. if they stretch, the fabric needs to be repositioned

5. necklines sewn according to patterns for elastic materials must be enlarged

6. do not sew cuffs into necklines; they tend to fray and deform the fabric

7. necklines must either have a fastening or be gathered with elastic

8. necklines, sleeve caps, bias-cut parts of the pattern should be interfaced and stabilized

9. interface with fusible interfacing or a stabilizing tape

10. you don't need to interface the entire piece, just the bias-cut parts

11. interfacing will reinforce these bias sections and prevent them from stretching out

12. you must do this before sewing, otherwise, the bias sections will stretch out

Rules for sewing muslin:

1. use wider seam allowances on a single-needle machine - about 1 cm

2. always use needles suitable for classic cotton - standard needles with a slightly rounded tip

3. pin well before sewing

4. do not pull on the bias sides to prevent further stretching

5. if you gather the fabric on a machine, first secure the edge of the gathered piece with an overlock stitch to prevent the gathering thread from pulling out and running through the weave

6. it is necessary to secure the edges to prevent fraying

How to sew a children's muslin dress step by step?

1. First, prepare the dress pattern. You can use the Chloe dress pattern. The size range is 56 - 140. Tape the pattern together and select the size you need.

In the next phase, cut out the pattern pieces:

2 x front wrap piece - mirrored

1 x back piece on fabric fold

2 x sleeve on fabric fold

1 x strip for binding - I recommend a width of 3 or 3.5 cm for binding the neck and side seams of the dress. The length is given in the pattern's table.

2. In the next step, gather both sleeves. I recommend gathering using the basic method on a single-needle machine. I always gather with loosened thread tension set to 5.

At the beginning of the gathering - where the mark is, backstitch and secure the gathering, leaving the threads loose at the end. Then pull the loose ends and slowly move the fabric. Gathering will begin to form. Once gathered, secure the gathering with a knot.

3. step - The next step is hemming the sleeves. Once gathered, start with the hem. Fold the edge of the sleeve about 0.5 cm and start sewing with a straight stitch as close to the sleeve edge as possible.

Once you have stitched both hems on both sleeves in this way, cut off the excess fabric along the stitching. Be careful not to cut into the stitching.

4. step - Now make the second hem. Make this second hem wider. Fold about 1 cm from the edge. The difference will be that you will now sew as close to the fold as possible, not the edge. This is how cotton fabric, which tends to fray, is finished. If you are sewing with knit fabric, a simple hem is sufficient.

5. step - Now sew the shoulder seams. Don't forget to backstitch at the beginning and end of the shoulder seams to prevent the stitch from unraveling when attaching the sleeves and binding. Pin both sleeves into the armhole openings and sew them. Sew with the needle past the gathers.

6. step - Sew both sleeves into the armholes.

7. step - Now decide whether to sew a buttonhole for the wrap tie or leave an open hole in the seam. This procedure is for a hole in the seam, which you will leave in the left long seam from the sleeve down to the skirt. The position where to leave the opening is marked on the pattern. Mark this position on the seam as well.

Now sew the sleeve, and continue sewing the long side. Before the mark, backstitch and finish sewing. Continue only at the second mark. Again, backstitch at the beginning and sew the entire side of the dress all the way down.

Return to the omitted opening in the seam. Open the seam and press it flat with an iron. In the next step, stitch around this hole with a straight stitch. This will secure the hole and prevent it from fraying when you thread the tie through.

Version with a hole inside the side for threading the belt.

8. step - Sew both side seams of the dress from the sleeve down to the skirt edge. Hem the bottom of the skirt. The longest one. Hem it using the exact same procedure as you did for the sleeve hems. First, make a smaller hem - about 0.5 cm and sew as close to the edge as possible, then fold again - about 1 to 1.5 cm and sew the hem as close to the fold as possible.

9. step - Once you have finished the skirt hem, hem both side pieces of the front part. Again, in the same way as the skirt and sleeves.

10. Binding the neckline and both sides of the front wrap piece. You can do the binding with a special binding attachment, if you have one, or by hand, as I will show you in the photos below. First, sew the strip of fabric for binding. If it consists of multiple parts, center it in the middle of the neckline.

Stitch the fabric strip on a single-needle machine. Evenly about 1 cm from the edge of the fabric. Maintain an even distance from the edge.

11. step - Now turn the seam upwards as if to bind, and fold the remaining fabric so that it covers the entire seam. Pin the binding at even intervals. Continue folding the trim along the entire side piece, all the way to the end, where you will pin it and continue folding the tie all the way to the end, where you will secure it again with a pin.

12. step - Then sew the binding with a straight stitch just above the edge of the fabric fold, evenly along the entire length from the beginning of the tie. On the left side, across the side pieces and neckline, all the way to the second tie on the other side.

You only sew the hole for threading the tie through the side in one side panel. If your machine has the option to sew a buttonhole, this is also a way to make an opening for the tie.

The hole just needs to be reinforced with a second layer of muslin or fabric. For elastic fabrics, stabilize with a second woven layer of fabric and reinforce with a strip in the area where you will sew the hole.

That's it. Finally, secure the sleeves with a straight stitch so the seam lies nicely and doesn't stick out. And you have beautiful children's muslin dresses!

You can find the pattern here:

Link to the dress here