Quilted garments are back in style, and I love all the looks – from quilted coats and vests to dresses made from vintage quilts. Today I want to share a simple patchwork dress tutorial – how to make a quilt dress bodice and add it to an existing little girl’s dress pattern.
Whether you are an experienced quilter or a confident beginner seamstress, I hope this this step-by-step tutorial will help you feel confident with sewing a quilted garment.
I’m using a sawtooth star quilt block to make this patchwork dress, but you can substitute any other quilt block using this method!
The Pattern for the Patchwork Dress
For this patchwork dress tutorial, we are starting with a pattern by Oh Me Oh My Sewing and simply altering the bodice to have a quilted block front. You’ll need to purchase either her Larkspur Romper Pattern, or her Maisie Dress Pattern. This method could also work well with her Lily of the Valley Dress Pattern, but I haven’t tested it with that yet.
You could also try any other dress pattern with a similar square-ish front bodice.
In my tutorial I am making the size 18-24 for my 2-year-old daughter, according to her chest measurement. The quilt block fits nicely on this size. I have found this designer’s patterns to run a tad big, so be sure to take measurements of the recipient if you can rather than guessing a size. I’d say this size of quilt block would work best on dress sizes 12 months – 4 years. If you wish to make a smaller size, you may want to scale the quilt block down a little bit.
My quilt block in this tutorial has a 6″ finished size (6.5″ before adding it into the bodice).
Supplies you will need:
Sewing Clips or Pins
Scraps of linen or cotton fabric to make the quilt block (My favorite is 5.3oz linen from Fabrics-Store)
The fabric required for the pattern (For my example I am using cottage linen that I purchased from Isee Fabric)
How to Make a Sawtooth Star Quilt Block
When preparing to sew a quilt block, it is very important to cut the pieces precisely, in order for everything to line up nicely.
Using a cutting mat, ruler, and rotary blade will help ensure accurate measurements. While you could do it without these, I don’t recommend it. A rotary blade and cutting mat set are some of the most useful sewing supplies. I don’t even use scissors when cutting out curved pieces anymore. I use the rotary blade for everything.
(For an even more in-depth tutorial with more pictures on how to make a sawtooth star quilt block, follow my tutorial on the Fabrics-Store blog. This was for making linen stockings, but the quilt block size is the same.)
How to cut out the quilt block:
From the fabric you have chosen for your STAR:
Cut 1 main square 3.5″
Cut 4 squares 2 3/8″ and bisect on one diagonal to get 8 triangles that are used for the star points
From the fabric you have chosen for your BACKGROUND:
Cut 4 squares each 2″
Cut 1 square 4 1/4″ and bisect it on both diagonals to get 4 triangles
Your pieces should look out like this:
Lay them out to get an idea of where everything will go and to help decide if you like the colors you chose.
(Tip: Consider sewing up a few of these quilt blocks at the same time! They don’t take very long, and you can use them for other projects such as my linen Christmas stocking tutorial or another garment.)
How to Sew the Quilt Block:
Now it’s time to sew the quilt block. Taking care to sew a precise 1/4″ seam allowance will ensure that everything lines up nicely. My Pfaff sewing machine has a red line at 1/4″ inch seam allowance which helps a lot! You could also put a small piece of washi tape as a guide if you need it.
First, place 4 of the 8 star points right sides together with the background color larger triangles. Sew, using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Press the seams open with a hot iron and plenty of steam. They will look like this:
Next, place the 4 remaining star points right sides together on the other side of the background triangles and sew, always using a careful 1/4″ seam allowance.
Press the seams open.
Now it should look like this:
Next, we will sew the 4 background squares on to the sides of the star points. Let’s do the top row and the bottom row. Place the small squares right sides together with the star points. Pin and sew.
Press the seams open.
Now it should look like this:
Finally, it’s time to sew the two remaining seams to finish your star block. Take care with this one to make sure that the star lines up nicely. Use pins and check that the seam lines up before you sew.
Sew 1/4″ seam. Press the seams open.
And you did it! You made a sawtooth star quilt block. Isn’t it sweet?
How to add the quilt block to a dress bodice:
Next, it’s time to add this quilt block to the bodice of a dress.
First, prepare the pattern. Print the bodice front pattern piece and cut it out. Then use paper, parchment paper, or Swedish tracing to make it a full front pattern piece (rather than just a half, cut-on-fold pattern piece).
Center the quilt block on the bodice front pattern piece, as shown:
Using a ruler and a pencil, trace the edges of the quilt block. At the same time, cut that little corner off the quilt block where the neckline is. It should look like this:
Next, using a ruler, make lines 1/4″ inside those first lines, to allow for the seam allowance.
Finally, cut carefully along those inner lines. The center will be tossed, and the outer 4 pieces will be your new pattern pieces to finish the bodice, as shown:
Use these 4 pieces to cut out linen for the rest of the bodice.
Next, it’s time to sew these pieces to the bodice. It’s a little tricky to know where to line up these 4 pieces.
Start with the top two, lining them up with the neckline. Always pin first and then unfold slightly to make sure the pieces line up correctly. With right sides together, sew the two upper bodice pieces to the quilt block.
Finally, sew the bottom two bodice pieces to the quilt block, using 1/4″ seam allowance.
Press all seams open with an iron.
How to add a lining to the Patchwork Dress Bodice:
Once you have your quilted bodice ready, you can use this piece to trace and add a lining if you’d like. I simply cut out the same bodice piece in the gingham fabric and held the two pieces together as one.
Next, I added some hand-quilting stitches. This step is optional. Feel free to add some stitches if you like the look. From there I treated the bodice + lining as one piece when continuing with the rest of the pattern.
Continue with the pattern as directed:
Continue on with the pattern you have chosen whether it be the Larkspur Romper or Maisie Dress Pattern by Oh Me Oh My Sewing, or another similar pattern. Her patterns are well-written and thorough.
You did it! Stand back and admire your finished quilt dress!
The Finished Patchwork Dress:
I hope you enjoyed this Patchwork Dress Tutorial – how to make a quilt dress bodice.
Have you made a quilted garment? Let me know in the comments!
I’d love to see your finished dress! Tag me on IG @makeityourselfmama, and tag @ohmeohmysewing as well. She has many lovely patterns, and I’ve enjoyed making a few for my daughter.
Happy Sewing!
Love, Sara
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