Linky Love: DIY Dresses Edition

Here in Florida, spring is in full swing--so summer is only a few weeks away!  Yeah, I know what the calendar says, but let me just tell ya that we're a little different down here close to the equator!  My mind has already shifted to start thinking about my summer wardrobe--which always includes plenty of light and airy summer dresses.  The blogosphere offers a wide variety of *free* tutorials about making your own dresses and dresses for your little ones, so here are a few of my favorites!

These simple dresses made from a t-shirt and fabric are a favorite seamstresses of all skill levels.  Talk 2 the Trees has a very simple tutorial to follow.

Jessica of Sew Homegrown also  has a similar tutorial.  Her technique involves a bit more tailoring than the aforementioned tutorial and the results are worth the extra effort!  Didn't she choose an awesome t-shirt/fabric combo?

This knock-off dress from Maybe Matilda is a variation on the previous two dresses with a few extra details.  For instance, she leaves the gathers in the front and not on the sides so that those of us with hips (yeah, that's me!) don't look super hippy and puffed out like the Michelin man.  She even includes pockets in her dress.  Since I had sweet Junebug, I looove pockets in my dresses.  Seriously--it's something I get excited about!

Leave it to Prudent Baby to set the bar even higher--Jaime created this Modern Prairie dress by tracing an existing one that she liked.  Using her technique, you can recreate your favorites, too.  I won't lie, I'm still intimidated by the shirring technique. 

I have two dresses in the works for Junebug right now, too.  The first is the Charlotte dress from Craftiness is not Optional that I'm using for her Easter dress.  It's so classically beautiful and it'll be my first invisible zipper.  I'm not to that step yet, so wish me luck!

The next is the snappy toddler dress from Prudent Baby.  Not only does Jaime make awesome clothing for herself, but her daughter gets to rock some pretty awesome garments, too.  I hope the one I make for Junebug is this precious.

Even if you're snowed in somewhere up north, you can bring a little sunshine to your day by making one of these awesome summer dresses in preparation for the season.

Or you could move to Florida.  Just sayin'.