A Vintage Feedsack Pillowcase Dress-Tutorial

This is so, so cute! I used several different tutorials as guides and made this sweet little toddler-to-young-girl-sized dress/top. Check out the tutorial by Susan Peterson at Freshly Picked, March 27,2008.....full of links to others,too! Thanks, Susan!



This is an old feedsack from years and years ago. It held feed for chickens or other farm animals, or even flour or rice or something like that. If you look along the front of the pillowcase you can see where the string was pulled out to open the sack. You can also see where it faded along the fold, which is now the center of my dress. I hope it's not too noticeable. It's interesting that some of these feedsacks were made into designs perfect for using as pillowcases as is. I for one wouldn't mind buying something like dogfood in bright feedsacks! I haven't quilted in a long time, but I could be tempted to start back up,lol!
Now, how to make one for your own little girl :D You'll need:
1. a pillowcase or sew some fabric together into a tube
2. a sewing machine
3. elastic thread
4. embellishments, I used some vintage yellow rick-rack, and a ruffle cut from a white cotton nightgown


First I cut 4" off across the sewn end of the pillowcase. Cut those apart in the center to make 4 separate pieces. Fold them in half lengthwise and sew them together, and turn inside out, and press them nice and neat.


Now open up the pillowcase so the side seam is in the center back. Press it nice and neat, and fold down the top edge about 1/4" then fold over about 1 and 1/2" and press.


Wind some elastic thread onto an empty bobbin, not too loose, not too tight. Use a spool of thread that matches your pillowcase for the top stitching, or matches a color in the design. You'll be threading the machine normally; the only difference will be the bobbin. Just sew as usual If this is your first time to try elastic shirring, just use the color thread that matches your fabric.


Look on your machine and find the elastic shirring stitch. It will look like this...#9 on my machine.


For this dress, I left the top edge straight instead of cutting out armholes, so I just stitched straight across starting at the back seam. Make sure you begin and end with a few back stitches to hold your elastic in place! I'm going to make 7 rows of elastic shirring stitches, and use lavender thread to match the pillowcase, and these will show on top. Use the sewing machine foot as a guide to how far apart to space your stitches.


For the hem, I sewed the ruffle I cut off a white cotton nightgown to the bottom of the dress


Then I sewed down a single row of vintage yellow rick-rack over that. Sweet :D


Don't ask me how I got the hem photo upside down!


Decide where the shoulder ties should go and sew them down. At this point, you'll steam the elastic shirring. Steam will make the elastic pucker and shrink...wow! I don't trust using my iron for steam...too much rust...so I tossed the pillowcase dress in the dryer with some damp clothes.

Go make one!
Kudzu