How to make a boho girls dress without a pattern – beginners sewing tutorial

This step by step tutorial will teach you how you can easily sew the cutest little boho girls dress, using a basic t-shirt for the pattern. Or you could also copy one of your daughter’s dresses, using basically the same process.

To get started, gather your supplies:

• Sewing machine
• Serger (optional)
• Knit fabric (I used this cotton spandex jersey in the color “army”)
• Matching thread
• Jersey or stretch sewing machine needles
• Clips or pins (I love clips for knits, seeing as it’s easy to poke holes in knit fabric with pins)
• Scissors
• Seam ripper
• Wrapping or packaging paper, or scrap paper taped together
• Two different colored pens for making your pattern
• A shirt to make a pattern from. I chose a shirt that fits my daughter well and doesn’t have a button for the neck opening.

Creating the boho girls dress paper pattern from a t-shirt

Step 1 – Fold your t-shirt in half and lay it along the edge of your paper, then unfold.

Trace all along the edges, leaving no seam allowance at this point. For the curved armhole and the front of the neck, use a pin to poke all along them. When you remove the shirt, you will have a dotted curve that you can then connect.

Do the same for the sleeve, laying the folded edge along the edge of the paper.

Step 2 – Now you can add in your seam allowances with a different colored pen. I’m using a seam allowance of 1/2 inch, but if you don’t have a serger, you might want to use 1/4 so that you don’t have to trim them. Because of the binding, the neck doesn’t need a seam allowance and the sleeve doesn’t need a hem allowance.

I chose to make a shirt pattern and just mark where I wanted the waist to end for a dress. I made the waist about 3 inches below the armpit. (Excuse my scribbled out line!)

Calculating the skirt dimensions

Step 3 – For the skirt dimensions, you could measure the length of the skirt on one of your daughter’s dresses, or just guess and add 2 inches or so to be on the safe side. Make sure to add in the seam allowance and hem allowance of 3/4 inch. For the width, measure the width of the waist of the bodice, then double it. (You will need two skirt pieces, front and back).

Calculating the binding dimensions

Neck binding

Step 4 – To calculate the neck binding width, take your pattern piece and measure all around the neck 1/4 inch from the edge (this will be the stitching line). Don’t measure the seam allowances. Then use this formula:

Neck circumference x 0.85 + 1. The length will be 1 1/4 inches.

Wrist binding

Step 5 – The wrist binding length will be 2 inches. You can use this chart to determine the width:

• 12-24 months: 5 7/8 inches
• 2T: 6 inches
• 3T: 6 1/4 inches
• 4T: 6 3/8 inches
• 5T: 6 1/2 inches
• 6: 6 3/4 inches
• 7: 7 1/8 inches
• 8: 7 1/4 inches
• 9: 7 3/8 inches
• 10: 7 1/2 inches
• 11: 7 5/8 inches
• 12: 7 3/4 inches

The binding needs to be cut on the grainline, with the direction of most stretch going ACROSS the pieces.

Cutting out the pattern pieces for your boho girls dress

*If you haven’t worked with knit fabric before, or you’d like some extra tips, you can check out my guide to sewing with knit fabric here.

Step 6 – For the arms, I set the sleeve edge in about 1 1/2 inches from the folded edge, giving about 3 inches of extra width to each sleeve at the top. I cut straight down from the underarm so that there would be lots of fulness at the wrist. No hem allowance is needed because these sleeves will have binding.

Step 7 – For all of your pieces, make helpful little notches for lining up later (as pictured below) The notches can be 1/4 inch, except on the neck and neck binding, they need to be just under 1/4 inch.

You can also see below that I curved the waist on the front bodice piece up by 1/2 inch. This is totally optional, I just often do it because it’s very subtle but I think it looks a little nicer.

Let’s sew our boho girls dress!

For all seams, use either a serger or a sewing machine with a stretch stitch, such as a narrow zigzag or lightning bolt. Otherwise your seams will pop when the dress is stretched!

Neck binding

Step 8 – First sew your bodice pieces together at the shoulders, right sides together.

Step 9 – Sew the short ends of your neck binding together, right sides together. Trim the seam allowance.

Step 10 – We are going to attach the binding to the neck. Pin or clip the binding to the INSIDE of the shirt. You will have the right side of the binding to the wrong side of the shirt. Match notches at center front and center back. The quarter notches on the binding are just for reference, but they won’t match up with the shoulder seams. You will need to stretch the binding slightly.

Sew with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. I use my sewing machine for this part, even though I have a serger.

Step 11 – Fold the binding towards the right side of the shirt, 1/4 inch and then another 1/4 inch and pin or clip in place. You will basically be wrapping it around to the right side of the shirt. The seam allowance of the shirt will not be folded down.

Sew from the right side of the shirt, as close to the edge of the binding as possible without going off.

On to the sleeves!

Step 12 – Now we will sew our gathering stitches on the sleeves. For a full guide to sewing gathers, check out my post here. You machine should be set to the longest straight stitch and the needle tension should be low (2 on my machine, 4 is normal). Sew two parallel lines of stitching, fabric right side up. Leave long tails on both ends and don’t backstitch!

You will be sewing along the top between the two notches, and along the entire bottom.

Attaching the sleeves to the wrist binding

Step 13 – Attach the wrist binding to the sleeves, right sides together, matching up the center notches. Pull the bobbin threads to gather so that the sleeves match the binding. Sew.

Attaching the sleeves to the bodice

Step 14 – Now you can attach the sleeves to the bodice, right sides together. I first match the center notches to the shoulder seams, then go from the under arm to where I notched the sleeves (there are no notches on the bodice, just match everything up without stretching either piece). Then pull the bobbin threads of your gathering stitches so that the length matches up with the shoulders. Sew, keeping the sleeves on top so that you can see that the gathers look good, and keeping an eye underneath to make sure no folds are getting sewn into the seam.

Step 15 – Next, pin or clip all the way from the waist of the bodice to the end of the arm binding. Make sure the underarm seams match up, and that the seam allowance of the binding is pointed down, towards the end of the arm, and matches up. Sew.

Hemming the wrist binding

Step 16 – Now we need to hem the binding. Fold in by 1/2 inch and then another 1/2 inch towards the wrong side. I find it easier to not pin because it’s such a tiny area, but do what works for you.

Have the shirt turned so that the sewing foot is inside the tube of the arm. It’s just easiest to do it this way for tiny little openings. Like this:

Yay, your bodice is done!

Sewing the skirt of the boho girls dress

Step 17 – Now onto the skirt. Sew the two side seams, right sides together.

Step 18 – Then, starting at the center back notch, sew your two lines of gathering stitches (longest straight stitch, needle tension low).

Step 19 – Then turn the skirt inside out, bodice right side out. Slide the bodice into the skirt, upside down, and match notches and side seams. Pull on the bobbin threads to gather, then add more clips or pins. Or gather first and then match everything up.

*If you’re using a serger, it really helps to use your sewing machine to baste together the sections where the side seams are first, so that they line up perfectly.

Sew with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, check from the right side that everything looks good, and remove your gathering stitches.

Step 20 – Now turn up the hem by 3/4 inch and sew, and you are all done your boho girls dress!

Isn’t this just the cutest, basic little dress? It was so quick and easy to make, and both my daughter and I love it, so I will definitely be making more. Would you try this project? I’d love to know if you do!