When I was 4-years-old I had a red plaid jumper that I wore almost every single day. In fact, about 90% of the pictures taken that year have me sporting that bright tartan red with either polka-dot leggings or neon bike shorts underneath, so cool. Which brings me to the Summertime Jumper made by Anshu from Blooms and Bugs. When we first saw her cutest aladdin pants ever we knew we wanted to see more. The Strawberry Vanilla Dress was also perfect for sunny days and the Reversible Zen Dress, who doesn’t love a 2-in-1? However, when we saw the Summertime Jumper we knew it was it, classic, cute, versatile and totally customizable.
Check out the Summertime Jumper tutorial after the jump…
I have been making these jumpers even before I started my etsy shop and this blog. They have been pretty popular with my customers but they are also very easy to make and they offer a lot of fun customization options. Here’s a tutorial for this floral romper. Towards the end I will also show you some examples of the others I have made to give you more customization ideas.
Supplies:
-For 12 -18 months size
-Main Fabric – half yard
-Coordinating fabrics for shoulder straps and the band – half yard ( there will be some leftover
-Bias tape in a coordinating color – optional – 1.5 yard
-Elastic – 1 inch wide
-Grosgrain Ribbon a small scrap in coordinating color
Construction:
1. Cut a 12 inch long X 36 inch wide fabric from main fabric. Sew the 12 inches sides with right sides together. Set your stitch length to the longest and sew a seam along the 36 inch side of your fabric, leave some hanging thread for this seam. Do not back-stitch.
2. Sew shoulder straps
3. Place the shoulder straps about 2 -3 inches apart at the center of 2.5 inch wide strips. Sandwich them between 2 layers ( right sides together) and sew along the end where raw end of shoulder straps is aligned with raw sides of strips for band.
4.Turn out, here’s how it looks.
5. Fold the raw sides of the band half inch on the inside at the side where the shoulder strap are at the right side ( that is the seam is not visible). Now fold the raw ends of the other side of band over this side. This will have the effect of making the inner layer of the band slightly longer than the outer layer. This will be useful when you attach the bod of the dress to the band.
6. Sew the two shorter ends of the band ( right sides together)
7. Now take the main fabric that you prepared earlier, pull the thread of the seam along the raw end to gather the fabric. Adjust the gathers such that the dress width is equal to the width of the band.
8. Line up the raw end of main fabric with the raw end of outer layer of the band. Make sure of the following things:
- The straps are at the center of the front of main fabric
- The right side ( seamless) of shoulder straps falls together with the right side of the dress.
Sew a seam along the raw edge, make sure the seam falls on the fold you had made in step 5.
9. Here’s how it will look once you turn it out after sewing. Fold the inner layer of the band inside.
10. Sew a seam just below the band at the front, make sure you’re catching the inner layer of the band inside with this seam. Leave two 1 inch gaps in the back, about 8 inches apart.
11. Thread a wide elastic through these gaps with the help of a safety pin. Pull the elastic such that the total width of the band becomes about three inches less than the required width. This will ensure a snug fit.
12. Secure the elastic on both sides using zig-zag stitch. Go over the elastic 3-4 times to ensure strong seam because this seam would be constantly under tension.
13. Sew buttons on the shoulder straps and buttonholes right beneath the elastic. You may sew two sets of buttons for a flexible fit. The shoulder straps can also be worn straight or in a cris-cross to allow a good fit for a long time.
14. Make a small bow out of a small coordinating scrap of grosgrain ribbon. Hand sew it at the front of the jumper.
Your adorable, adjustable jumper dress is ready!
So cute! What is the general rule for adjusting the size?
Hi Carrie,
Thanks for the compliment.
What I usually do is measure at her widest point ( usually belly or butt) and multiply it by 1.5 times. This gives me a comfortable width. The length is up to you. You could make it top length ( hitting thighs), or dress length ( hitting right below the knees).
The only thing to keep in mind is that these measurements don’t work for crawling babies, if the baby is still on all fours, then I would keep the top length just above the butt and the width 1.25 X widest point of the body. This is to keep the top from getting in her way while she crawls. I learned this the hard way. So many cute dresses had to wait for 6 months to an year before my daughter could wear them, because a crawling baby and a long dress just don’t work together.
This is so cute and I’d love to make one but there is no mention of how long or wide the shoulder straps should be and also, with the 2.5″ wide strips for the band, how long should this band be? I love your fabric combinations. Gorgeous!
I love the floral fabric used in the tutorial dress! Do you know where I could buy that and/or the name? Thank you!
This website is the best I have found that has cute DIY stuff.I love the fabric.
I was also wondering about the measurements for the band and shoulder straps/how they are constructed. Such a cute jumper!
@Megan, @Monique Thanks for liking it. I’ll try to answer your queries here:
Here’s a detailed tutorial for making shoulder straps:
http://bloomsnbugs.blogspot.com/2012/04/sewing-shoulder-strapswaist-ties-for.html
For the waistband…
The rule of thumb I use is desired width ( the width at her chest) + 3 inches. That will make the jumper easy to put on the child, and the elastic at the back will keep it snug.
Let me know if you have any other questions.
@Sarah, @Robin: I bought the fabric from here:
http://www.girlcharlee.com/voile-lawn-fabric-c-109.html
Unfortunately, it seems to be sold out. You could check with the owner if she’s planning to restock the fabric in near future.
Hope it helps,
Anshu
is there a way to make this for adults? i find them really cute and would love to make one for myself
these are adorable. i need to adapt it to a boys or mans shirt and see if i can make them into dresses. i have some cute fabric and some dragonfly iron ons and everything i need to make a few of these for nieces đŸ™‚
thanks for sharing,
kudzu
hey guys, this might be helpful for sizing. i’m using their measurement of 20″ for the chest to make my jumper right now.
http://www.naartjiekids.com/info/size-chart/
I love this dress. I made a version of this for my 20 month old – http://toddlefast.blogspot.com/2012/06/upcycled-toddler-outfit.html I’m a super beginning sewer and I wasn’t sure about button holes so I made a halter style tie. The only problem is the back hangs longer. I’m thinking I might sew on snaps – then I’d have the option of halter, crossed on the back or straight back. Thank you for the tutorial!
Love the dress!! I made it for my daughter and now I want to make it for my friend’s two girls as presents. One is a 3t/4t and one is 6-9 months. I think I know how to adjust all the sizes, except, do you have any suggestions on where to sew the buttons on the straps for the two different dresses. I just measured on my daughter, so it was easy when I made her dress. But, what about dresses when you don’t have the child there to measure. Any suggestions?
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Thank you, bye
barbara
I love this dress! So cute! I made one last night. I guessed on the strap length and definetly made mine too long, and the length was a bit too short for my daughter, so I added a bit of length to the end to make it work. When I sewed in the elastic, you can really see the stitches. I should have used pink thread! Here is the dress I made: http://wethreemothers.blogspot.com/2013/07/summertime-jumper.html
I loved this dress .Stitching one for my grandaughter.
This little jumper definitely will be great for summertime!
So light and airy, and absolutely charming with its pretty
puff sleeves, soft, woolly bows and smart tie – very few will
be able to resist the pleasure of making, and wearing, this
summery jumper.