Check out this collaborative article all about how to get and create your very own student-drawn dress! Students will love to help create this memorable gift! Keep scrolling for lots of great tips and ideas from fellow teachers.

Check out these related posts:

• Tips for Creating an End of the Year Slideshow
• End of the Year Theme Days in Kindergarten
• End of the Year Awards in Kindergarten

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How to Make a Student-Drawn Dress for the End of the School Year

You’ve probably seen those adorable student-drawn dresses on social media and thought, “I can totally do that!” They’re not only cute, but they also make the sweetest keepsake to remember your students by. But how do you actually make one? What kind of dress do you need? What markers work best?

Well, we’ve seen so many amazing examples shared in our Simply Kinder community, and we’ve gathered all their tips, tricks, and favorite supplies so you can create a student-drawn teacher dress, too!

Watch It In Action 🎥

Supplies You’ll Need to Make a Student-Drawn Dress:

• plain white dress  (Amazon has many options, click here to see them)
• fabric markers (click here to see our favorite)
• construction paper or cardboard to put in the dress to avoid bleeding

Tips for Creating Your Student-Drawn Dress

Every teacher does this a little differently, but here are some tried-and-true tips from the Simply Kinder community:

• Work with individual students or very small groups
• Wash the dress before you start
• Use cardboard inside the dress and clips to keep it flat
• Start early — even a month or two before you plan to wear it
• Have a list of easy drawing ideas ready (rainbows, animals, shapes, etc.)
• Assign each student a space to fill to keep it organized
• Fill in any gaps or blank spaces for a more polished look
• Consider which parts of the dress you want to leave blank (like the top)

Real Teacher Examples: Student-Drawn Dresses in Action

This is where our teachers from the Simply Kinder group have been so helpful in sharing.  Read their experiences below:

It’s Kindergarten Couture!

Mrs. Crisp found her dress on Amazon here.

Mrs. Crisp found her white dress on Amazon and gave this project a try—despite not considering herself crafty. It turned out to be the highlight of her end-of-year celebration!

Mrs. Crisp’s Tips:

• Use cardboard and binder clips to keep the fabric tight
• Let students test on a fabric scrap first
• Encourage kids to draw something meaningful to them
• Leave the top of the dress blank for a more modest look

Be sure to check out Kristen at I Do, We Do, You Do!

Last day of school dress!

Anna found supplies on Amazon –  her dress here and the hoop skirt underneath here.

🎉 Anna’s Last Day of School Dress

Anna’s dress and hoop skirt came from Amazon, and she spent two months working on the project with her students. In the back, she added “Kinder 2017–2018” surrounded by student signatures!

Anna’s Tips:

• Start early and spread out the work
• Suggest ideas like hearts, emojis, animals, and flowers
• Encourage students to fill all available space

To check out Anna’s post in the Simply Kinder Facebook group, click here.

A special first-year teacher keepsake!

Miss Eadler found her dress on Amazon here .

My kiddos put a lot of hard work and even more love into this dress!!! Seeing their eyes light up this morning was one of my favorite memories of the year!  They were so proud! What a special keepsake to have being a first-year teacher!

You have to know your class to know how to manage this project.  For a couple of my students I had to give a specific spot to draw on,  but for most of them I let their imaginations lead them! For the things I really wanted (the rainbow because our class is called the rainbow room), I let my “perfectionist artist” do those.

A few of Miss Eadler’s tips:

• Have your more artistically inclined students do specific images you may want like a rainbow.
• I pulled students to my table during centers to do this project 1-2 at a time.  This gave me to individual time with each child during the end of the year chaos.  (I really enjoyed this aspect of it).

To check out Miss Eadler’s post in the Simply Kinder Facebook group, click here.

We skipped the yearbook!

Ms. Arveson found her dress on Amazon here and used these markers.

Yearbooks have nothing on this adorable dress my students helped me to make!  The students were amazed and proud to see me wear it.

A few of Ms. Arveson’s tips:

• Wash the dress twice before we wrote on it.
• Tape off sections of the dress to define where they are to design.
• Use cardboard to keep the markers from bleeding.

To check out Ms. Arveson’s post in the Simply Kinder Facebook group, click here.

We did one student at a time so I could hear the story behind their drawing.

My dress is actually my native dress to my People of the White Mountain Apache tribe. It was made specifically for me by my seamstress and is called a camp dress.  We created it to celebrate my 10th year in Head Start and my 15th year in education.  I used fabric markers for creativity and nothing else.  Since one student worked on the dress at a time, I was able to hear each story that went along with every student’s drawing.  Pretty awesome!

Mrs. Marone’s Tips:

• We talked before they designed the dress so they had a plan.
• One student worked on it at a time.

To see Mrs. Marone’s post in the Simply Kinder Facebook group, click here.

My students were so proud!

Ms. Ventola found her dress on Amazon here.

I had so much fun making this dress with my students.  And they were so proud!

Mrs. Ventola’s Tips:

• Make sure your dress is not see-through.
• Put a board between the fabric.
• Hold the fabric tight to draw.
• Have the students plan out their drawings.
• Use post-it notes to create a box the students can work in.

To see Mrs. Ventola’s post in the Simply Kinder Facebook group, click here.

For the Love of Kinder (aka Josh) put his own twist on these fun dresses with these amazing shorts!  Click here to see them on Instagram! Are these not amazing!?

Josh used washable markers and plans to bleach the shorts to use year after year for this project. (We are not sure it will work, but we will let you know!)  UPDATE:  IT WORKED.  Josh bleached his shorts and will be using the same shorts this year with his class!  Great idea Josh – thanks for sharing!

The students were more excited than I!

Ms. Barreiros found her dress at New York and Company here. 

I created this dress for my students’ graduation!  I was so excited to wear it and they were even more excited about designing it!

A few of Ms. Barreiros’s tips:

• Wash the dress first.
• Use fabric markers.
• Place something in the middle of your dress so it does not bleed.
• Let it dry for 48 hours.

To check out Ms. Barreiros’s post in the Simply Kinder Facebook group, click here.

The students and parents loved it!

Mrs. Quinn found her dress at New York and Company here and the markers on Amazon here.

I had my students design this dress for my Kindergarten Celebration.  The kids were thrilled to find their designs on me! The parents loved it, too.

It was challenging for them all to draw on fabric at first but overall they did well. It was especially challenging for my kids who still struggle with fine motor skills. They drew really small or decided to only write their name.

A few of Mrs. Quinn’s tips:

• Have your “better” artists do their designs first.
• Show them how big you want the pictures.
• Put the cardboard between your dress.
• Give students free rein on what they can draw.
• Do 1 to 2 students at a time.

To check out Mrs. Quinn’s post in the Simply Kinder Facebook group, click here.

I turned my dress into a tote bag and throw pillows!

Ms. Ponti had her end-of-the-year dress made into throw pillows for her classroom and a tote! I’m loving how they turned out

See it here in our Facebook group. 

Check out these new ideas for pillows, hats, and more on the 2022 post here!

Ms. Margroff shared her beautiful student-drawn dress creation on this post here! She did half at the beginning of the year and half at the end! So memorable and adorable! Love the jean jacket too! Check out all of here tips and ideas here!

Ready to Make Your Own Student-Drawn Dress?

Creating a student-drawn dress is such a meaningful way to celebrate your class and end the school year with a memory you’ll cherish forever. Whether it’s a dress, a pair of shorts, a hat, or something totally unique, it’s a project your students will never forget.

Let us know in the comments or share your photo in the Simply Kinder Facebook Group!SaveSave