When my husband and I were first married, we relocated to Las Vegas for his job. We were both from North Carolina and knew no one, and it was 2009--right after the crash--so I had a hard time finding work. To keep me from going insane at home all day, my husband bought me a sewing machine to play with (sounds very 50's but it really was what I wanted :-D). It turned out to be a lucky sewing machine, because that week I found a job! Of course, now that my free time was gone, the sewing machine was delegated to gathering dust in a corner. Now, four years later, I have a beautiful baby girl--and the sewing machine has come back out. I am a total newb, so right now I'm mostly experimenting with tutorials and recycled linens from relative's closets. Behold sewing attempt #1: The pillow case nightgown!
Here is the website with the tutorial, and a printable pattern: http://gingercake.typepad.com/gingercake/2010/05/pillowcase-nightgowns-free-tutorial.html and here is another example of someone else who made a bunch: http://icandy-handmade.com/2011/02/icandy-plenty-of-pretty-pillowcase.html. It was really simple--even a newbie like me was able to cobble it together. The only problem I had was doing the rolled hem stitch on the neckline--you can't tell in the picture, but it's wonky and puckered as heck! If anyone knows a good resource for showing how to make a pretty rolled neckline--be a hero and drop the link in the comments.