Gliding Leaves: How to NOT Buy Clothes-Sewing Experiment

My friend asked me this weekend if I like shopping for clothes yet. My answer was the same as all the other times--Nope! I just don't like spending money:) If I'm spending money on friends or food, I'm more willing, but I just don't think fashion is enticing enough to spend a lot of money on (I'm all about the 50 percent off days at thrift stores). Sewing clothes is also a good alternative to going crazy at a mall. While sales and clearance items can be great, sewing is like a jigsaw puzzle, but actually useful when you put pieces together. So, here's my sewing (and money-saving) experiment.
To make a dress, I used:

a tank top (to trace the pattern)
fabric (I used fabric I found lying around the house--it's how I didn't spend money)
a sewing machine (thanks to my mom for having one)
scissors (unless you plan to knife the fabric or something)
elastic (enough to stretch around your waist- I also found this lying around the house)

This probably took me about 1-2 hours to make. It probably didn't help that I was watching Shrek the Musical while trying to make this in my "multi-tasking" way. I like to keep things low key and don't use tape measures or pins. You might find simpler ways to make it, but here it goes:

1. Cut the fabric.

First off, always keep the fabric right-to-right. The right side of fabric is the side that you want to end up on the outside. I chose the side that looked more vibrant. This is a woven cotton fabric. A stretchy fabric might be more comfy, but I just used what was available. I measured the fabric to be slightly above my knee, leaving about an inch extra for the hems. →

Folding the fabric in half to cut out the dress shape saves you time and effort and keeps the dress symmetrical. I used the tank top to trace the top part, slanted towards the edge of the fabric, and then left the bottom half as a straight cut. I used the front side of the dress as a template to cut the back, just making the neckline higher and the sides a bit wider.

I had extra fabric, so I cut out pockets by making 2 half-heart shapes. Keep the opening for the pocket (straight side) big enough to fit your hand through easily. I could've made the opening a bit bigger. Make tiny cuts on the side of the dress (front and back) at the top and/or bottom of where you want the pockets to go. The scissors in the picture below show where I made a small cut to keep the pockets at a consistent height.

Remember to place the right side of the front piece to the right side of the back piece.

2. Sew the pockets.

Sew along the curved sides, leaving about 1 cm leading up to straight side un-sewn, where the pockets can attach to the dress. Sew the right side of the front part of the pocket to the right side of the front part of the dress. Sew the right side of the back part of the pocket to the right side of the back of the dress. It should look like elephant ears. I hope this makes sense. It confused me a lot as I was trying to figure out how to do this.

Here's how it looks with the pockets attached.

3. Sew the dress together.

Sew along the sides and and top with the right sides together. I added a zig-zag stitch next to the straight one just to make the dress a bit stronger and to try to prevent fraying.

Instead of sewing the pockets' curved side together beforehand, you could sew them now as you sew together the sides. That way it's one continuous seam. For the neckline, arm holes, and bottom of the dress, fold over twice about a quarter inch each time (for extra strength), and then make a straight stitch.

To add the elastic, fold over a flap where you want the dress to be cinched. Stretch out the elastic as you sew it with a zig-zag stitch, and it will naturally scrunch up.