Vintage and Lace Nightgown

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Next to nothing in the way of PJs or nightgowns survived the first two girls to be passed down to my 3yo. Nightgowns are, in my opinion, way too much $ for what they are to buy them in stores. I made it from some great giveaway prizes, so it cost me nothing but a little bit of thread, elastic, and time. Sweet! 

There is that picture smile again.
I whipped this one up in about a half hour, probably, and it worked out PERFECTLY with the amounts I had won.  I used some vintage material that I won from Quilting, Losing, and Tea that measured 24 inches by 36 inches and a package of perfectly matching flexi-lace hem facing that I won from Faith, Family, and Frugality that contained 2 1/2 yards of 1 7/8" wide lace.  I originally wanted to make a nightgown using THIS tutorial from icandy handmade, but I don't think that this is the same as stretch lace, so I did it a little differently.  That meant, I needed a piece of 1/2" elastic measuring an inch smaller than my daughter's chest. 
Here is how I made it...
First, I just serged the top and bottom edges.

Then, I sewed a yard of lace onto the bottom edge- directly onto the right side of the fabric because the pretty lace covers the serged edge.

I sewed another one yard strip of lace lined up with the bottom edge of the top row- 4 inches from the top- and sewed right down the center.

Then, I sewed the sides together- I didn't bother to serge it because it was the selvage edges.

Then, I took the leftover lace- 18 inches, and cut it in half to make straps (See?  The amounts were PERFECT!)  I pinned them two inches from the center on each side, but I forgot to figure in the gathering, so they should have been out another inch.  I turned the top of the fabric down 1 1/2 inches and sewed all the way around on the same line where I attached the lace.   I sewed back and forth several times over the straps to make it extra durable.

Then, I made a casing for the elastic.  I carefully sewed 1/2 inch from the top all the way around, leaving a small opening to insert the elastic.  I was careful not to catch the lace from the top edge, but I did sew the straps down again really well.

Finally, I inserted the elastic by putting a safety pin in the end and pushing it through.  I sewed the ends of the elastic together by overlapping them about an inch.

And that was it!  Very, very easy!

She loves it and I like its simple, vintage style... kinda' dreamy.

Thank you again to Karen and Carly for the great prizes. :)

I have decided to participate in Kids' Clothing Week Challenge since I have some other sewing projects in mind for my girls.  The goal is to sew for an hour a day, but for me, it will probably be little bits of time here and there as I can grab it.  Wish me luck!!