Remember this oven door kitchen towel from an earlier post?

These are relatively inexpensive gifts, especially if you have a stash of buttons and a bunch of extra trim lying around. And once you get the hang of it they don't take very long to whip up. Some time ago I had requests for instructions, and here they finally are.  These photos are not the greatest, and I don't have pics for some of the steps, but I will do my best to explain how to do each step. 

Wash and dry your fabric. If it is a wrinkled mess, iron it. Fold your fabric in half, right sides together, so that when you cut out your pattern you will be cutting two identical pieces. Below, Elisabeth is using for her pattern a yellow bodice piece which has already been cut out. (You can tell we homeschool by the books in the china hutch and the maps on the dining room table!

 Next, cut your towel in half and set it aside.

Now take your bodice pieces and pin them together around the head hole.  Sew around the hole using a 1/4" seam.

Clip into the seam about every 1/2", or less, so that when you turn it right side out, the circle will be nice and even and not shaped like a multi-faceted polygon.  Be careful not to cut into the stitching.

 In the photo below I am using green for the outside of the bodice, and a yellow lining. Take one of the layers, either one, and stuff it through the head hole.

 Now lay the two pieces together nice and flat, matching the sides, and press the head hole.

Okay, this is the tricky part, and I will do my best to explain how to do it.   Do this ONE UNDERARM SEAM AT A TIME. It will not work if you do them all at once. Turn the pieces right sides together at one underarm corner (you will be sewing the outside piece to the lining piece).  You will have bunched-up fabric to go over/around on the inside.  Pin the underarm seam. Now you are going to sew in a 5/8" seam from the end of the sleeve, pivot in the arm pit, and then sew down to the bottom of the bodice. Be sure to keep the rest of the fabric clear. Trim the seam to about 1/4", and clip into the pivot point right up to, but not into the stitching. Turn the underarm seam right side out, and repeat this step for the other three corners.  

Below, here is what it should look like.  Your underarm seams are finished, but the front is not sewn to the back.  If you opened this out it would look just like the pattern piece.  Remember, we have sewn the outside to the lining, but NOT the front to the back.  When it is done, it will drape over your oven door handle and will be tied together at the sides. Lay the bodice flat and press each corner.

I don't have a photo for this next part.  Turn up a 5/8" hem on the sleeves.  You can either fold both the lining and the outside fabric to the lining side and stitch so that the hem shows on the underside, or you can turn both pieces to the wrong side of the fabric, matching the edges at the fold, and top-stitch close to the edge.  This way the hem is hidden inside.  Press. Set the bodice aside.

Now for the towel/skirt. Using your longest stitch length (basting), make a row of stitching 5/8" from the cut edge of both towel pieces, leaving several inches of both spool and bobbin thread at both ends.  Do this again 1/4" from the first stitching line.  I tried to make this clearer by using white for the spool color and green for the bobbin. 

You are going to gather the towel so that its width will match the width of the bodice. Anchor the bobbin threads down at one end by inserting a pin and then wrapping both threads around the pin in a figure eight. At the other end of the stitching, pull both bobbin threads together with one hand, and with the other slide the fabric along the thread so that it gathers.  When the width matches the bodice width, anchor this end the same way you did the other.

 Adjust the gathers so that they are even across the skirt.  Now pin the towel to the outside front piece of the bodice, right sides together, keeping the lining clear. 

 Set your stitch length back to normal and sew from one side seam to the other, backstitching at each end. This is easier if you have the gathers on the underside. Repeat these steps with the back pieces.

Lay the "dress" out flat so the the inside is face up. Press the seam towards the bodice.  Your facing should be loose. Turn up the edge of the facing 5/8" so that the fold lies on the stitching line, and hand-sew it down across the bodice on the inside. You will now have a finished seam with no raw edges showing.

Here is Amy, demonstrating how your "dress" should look now: 

 You're almost done!  Now you can decorate with buttons and trim around the neck edge, sleeves, and/or bottom of bodice.  Just stitch the trim over the fabric, wrapping the ends around the back side. The final step is to cut four pieces of 1/4" or 1/2" cross-grain ribbon to about 8", and tack one piece to the right and left sides of the front and back of the bodice seam. Or, use Velcro! Use your imagination. Hang over your oven door handle and tie both sides. Voila!

If you have questions leave a comment, and I will answer in forum style, commenting back to you on this page. Happy sewing and giving!