Skip to content

Self Drafted Side Cut-Out Dress

16317115438_5ae442eaff_c

Here’s something new! My 2015 has not been off to the best start in terms of sewing productivity but I have finished one new item – this dress!

16317382630_790cf80936_c

The Pattern: I drafted it myself based on my bodice block (which looks like I’m going to have to make smaller, this bodice is way too big) with some minor alterations.

I added a narrow waistband and a slightly curved gathered skirt but the cool part is definitely these side cut outs which are fun and summery (it’s oddly warm in Texas today despite the fact that it is supposed to be winter, whatever).

I like the look of a gathered skirt with a little curve at the bottom as opposed to a pure rectangle because I think it give the hem a little more poof but I can still use a border print without it looking wonky. I plan on using a border print in my next version.

It closes with a center back invisible zip.

16503824882_fdc2a831ea_c

Because of the cutouts I had to completely line the bodice. But I didn’t want to have to line the skirt or add any sort of support to the waist line so I went with a waistband, problem solved.

The Fabric: Just some quilting cotton which works fine for this style of dress. My MIL actually got this for me for Christmas so I’m glad it’s getting used.

16317365800_ffca50215d_c

The Changes: For this section I’m going to talk about what I plan on changing for my next iteration of this pattern.

– Make the bodice smaller. It’s way too big in the bust and waist and I think it’s because I haven’t altered this block in well over a year and it just doesn’t fit as well anymore.

– Lower the v-neck in the back and change the angle of the shoulders an back seam slightly to compensate for gaping. As it is now the back V is ok but it gapes slightly depending on how I move my arms.

– I want to make the shoulder line narrower at the at the armhole, as in, move the armhole edge closer to the neck and further from my shoulder bone. But in doing so I’m making the armhole bigger and need to make sure I don’t have any gaping, especially in the front armcye. We’ll see how that goes.

15884678833_e0d239393d_c

– The cutouts are fine. I like them as is. I didn’t add any interfacing to the waistband but if I use a lighter weight fabric in the future I’ll need to.

– I also want to add pockets. I’m always to lazy to do it (so much extra cutting out and edge finishing and blah, I just want to sew up my side seams fast!).

The Results: Not bad for the first try. I’m trying a new method of drafting the entire thing digitally in Adobe Illustrator. first rather than just on paper. I’m hoping it will save me time in the long run and also make my drafting more precise.

16478822996_99c942cf48_c

The only problem I had was the loose fit of the bodice but I couldn’t have known that without making a muslin first anyway. Now I can go back and make alterations to my original plain block and re-draft this dress’ bodice from there.

Comments (32) for post “Self Drafted Side Cut-Out Dress”

Comments are closed.

SidebarComments (32)