How to Sew a Girls' Sundress Without an Overlocker (Part 2)

Part two of my cut-out sundress for a girl: sewing it step by step, with a neat finish inside and no overlocker. There's no zip either: an elastic casing at the back lets her pull it on.

Why sew a dress without an overlocker

You don't need an overlocker for a clean finish: French seams and a lining hide every raw edge. I made the dress from an old sundress of mine; if you buy new fabric, less than a metre is enough.

My tips for sewing the sundress

• Fabric: for height 134 you need about 30 cm for the top and 50 cm for the skirt (150 cm wide). A print needs a different layout.
• Seam allowances: 1 cm on straight edges and 5–7 mm on curves; mark which is which on the pattern.
• Two elastics: 3 mm in the casing at the top of the back (topstitched 5 mm from the edge), and about 1.5 cm at the waist. If a 5 mm casing is too fiddly, use a wider elastic and stitch 1 cm from the edge.
• French seams on the skirt sides; for the hem, fold 1 cm twice and stitch 1 mm from the fold.
• Gather the skirt with a 5 mm stitch, 8–9 mm from the edge, and pull the lower thread.
• Thread the elastic with a safety pin (or a thick needle), and backstitch through the side seams to hold its ends.

What you need for the sundress

• Cotton fabric less than 1 m, or an old dress to upcycle
• Elastic, 1.5 cm for the waist
• Elastic, 3 mm for the back casing
• Interfacing for the waist panel lining
• Safety pins to thread the elastic Find it ↗
• Janome 2030 DC sewing machine Find it ↗
• Singer Heavy Duty 4432 sewing machine Find it ↗