How to Make a Child's Sash With 1/2 Yard of Fabric

I had been meaning to throw up a quick post on how to put together a three-piece sash for a child's dress.

In order to make a child's sash like the ones pictured here, you need 1/2 yard of fabric at least 44/45 inches wide.  The finished sash has a 2.5 inch band across the front and 4 inch wide ties.

1)  The first thing you need to do is measure the width of the front of the dress from seam to seam and add one inch for 0.5 inch seam allowances. (On this dress, width of front waist = 12.75 inches + 1 inch seam allowance = 13.75 inches)

You want to measure across the dress at the spot where the top of the sash will be -- approximately 2.5 inches above the waist seam.

2)  Cut the fabric.  There are three pieces.  (The width of the front waist is the measurement you got in step 1.)

These measurements will work up to about a child's size 5.  I found that 22 inches is the minimum tie length needed to make a good bow.  Larger sizes will need longer tie pieces!

3)  After cutting, take the tie pieces (9 x 22.5 inches) one at a time. Fold the first piece in half.

I used some pins to hold it in place since the fabric is slippery -- the side with the two pins is the folded side.

4) Take a ruler and cut the end of the tie on an angle.  Make sure the fold is on the long side.

4) Do the same thing with the other tie piece.  Make sure the angle is the same.

Once you take out the pins and open them up, each tie piece will look like this:

5) Before sewing, fold over each tie piece and pin it along the long open side, down to the point.  It's hard to tell in the picture, but pin and sew on the wrong side of the fabric.  (You'll turn it right side out in Step 8.)

6) Using 1/2 inch seams, sew along the long side of each tie all of the way down to the point. Leave the short end of the ties open. (Sorry, I forgot to take a picture of the open end of the tie.)

7) Trim the corners and the points.

8) Turn the ties right side out.

I used this little tool (I believe it's called a point turner) to turn the corners, but you can (carefully!) use something else -- a knitting needle works pretty well.

9) Press.

10)  Clean up the other side of the ties if they need it.

11)  Take the front piece of fabric.

12)  On either side of this piece, make two marks on the right side of the fabric.  This piece is 6 inches wide, so make a mark at 3 inches and at 1/2 inches.

13)  Pin the ties to the front piece -- just inside of the marks.  First pin the outside of the tie, then pinch the fabric and pin the inside.

14) Baste the ties.

15) Pin each side like this.  (It will make sense in a moment.)

16)  Fold the top half of the front piece over the bottom half and pin it in place, matching the sides and corners.  The ties can hang out right in the center front.

17)  Sew around the pinned edges, leaving a space open in the middle about 6 inches wide (where the ties hang out).  It is VERY important that you only catch the tie pieces in the end seams! That's why we pinned the tie out of the way in step 15.

18)  Clip the corners.

19)  Pull on the ties to turn the whole thing right side out.

20)  Sew the opening shut.  I used a whipstitch.

Phew!  Can you believe something so seemingly simple takes twenty steps?

I tacked the sashes down at the side seams (at the top edge of the sash, not the bottom) and in the center front in a place where the stitches wouldn't show.  

My models wore size 4 and size 6 dresses.

Let me know if you have any questions about the process!  ~  Liz