Tutorial: Bow Front Dress

I have this irrepressible desire to create things on a whim with no direction - except for the cute photo I find on Google or other places. This bow dress is one such item. And I absolutely love how it turned out! I mean,  seriously, wouldn't you if you had a cute little model to put it on?

Well, first things first: a supply list.

~ 1/2 yard fabric for the bodice OR a shirt

~ coordinating zipper (if choosing to make your bodice)

~ 1 yard fabric for the skirt

~ coordinating string

~ needle

Step 1: Construct a bodice. 

I actually don't have that part of the dress on this tutorial because I had started this dress awhile ago (with a different skirt in mind) and then got side-tracked with other projects. Which means, that I dug my bodice out of the closet. BUT, I will be posting a bodice tutorial SOON! 

If you'd rather save time, or don't feel comfortable making a bodice, go ahead and use a t-shirt and trim to your desired length. You can attach the skirt directly to the shirt :) Easy!

Let's move on.

Step 2: Cut out the belt and bow pieces.

You'll need 6 rectangles:

2 bow "knot" pieces: 2 1/2" x 5 1/4"

2 bow pieces: 4 1/2" x 22"

2 belt pieces: 2 1/2 x the circumference of the belly (in this case I cut mine to 27")

I simply cut along the bottom and side edge of the yard of fabric to get these pieces. 

With wrong sides together, sew the two pieces together for each size. Make sure to leave an opening at the end so you can pull your fabric through. Once completed, set the three sewn pieces aside.

Step 3: Sew the side seams of the skirt.

From the remaining yard, cut two equally sized rectangles for the skirt. Pin the sides together and sew.

Once the side seams are sewn, press them open.

Step 4: Gather the skirt and attach to the bodice/shirt.

Make sure to line up the side seams on the skirt to the side seams on the top. Sew in place and cut extra thread.

Step 5: Hem the skirt.

Now that the skirt and top are sewn together, you have yourself a basic dress. From here, you can hem the bottom to the desired length. I like to fold my rough edge over twice so there are no frayed threads when all is said and done.

Step 6: Making the bow.

With the bow pieces, sew the ends together so that you have a circle. Lay the circle flat and center the sewn ends.

Take the bow "knot" piece and sew the ends together as well. You can adjust the size of the circle so that the "knot" in the middle of the bow can be narrow or wide. I decided to go for a slightly more narrow look. Thus, the extra fabric in the inside of the circle.

Next, thread the bow through the bow "knot" and center the bow. Make sure the seam on the bow "knot" are in the back. It should look something like this. With a needle and thread, stitch the bow and "knot" together.

Step 7: Sew the belt to the dress.

Now, when I measured the belt, I didn't plan on having my two ends connect, so I didn't start in the middle of the bodice. Here, you'll place one end of the belt on the FRONT center of the bodice. This is simply to ensure that you never see any seams.

 With a stitch close to the edge of the belt, attach to the top. I attached the topside of the belt first and then to the skirt.

 The end product looked like this. If you've made your belt long enough for the ends to meet then you won't have the gap I did. I make my gap for two reasons: 1- I didn't make it long enough and 2- my belt is wider than my bow "knot" and didn't that to show. So, I'll hide those end under the bow.

Step 8: Place the bow on the dress.

Using a needle and thread, center the bow to the front of the dress. I attached at the "knot" first and then stitched down the corners of the bow. And you can't even tell my belt is short!

 Does the dress make you feel this way too? Haha...what a girl!

If you end up making a Bow Front Dress, send me a picture so I can share your hard work! Also, feel free to ask questions! Reach me at 

sewmuchpotential (at) gmail (dot) com.