Sleeveless Chiffon Dress

Sleeveless Chiffon Dress

there are three patterns pieces to this drapedcoat. you will need your fabric to be a minimumof 60 inches wide or 150 cm for this garment. i have made it here in a wool or agorra blendbut you can make it any soft fabric. a lightweight fabric will be perfect for thewarmer months. it doesn't have to be plain, a stripe wouldlook great. once you have cut the pattern pieces out youwill need to notch the seam allowances as i am showing here. make sure you mark the pocket positions withscissors with a sharp point so that when you lift the pattern from the fabric you willhave guides to help you sew. once you have completed all the notches takethe pins out of each piece.

take the front and the pocket pieces, keeping the the two front pieces together, lay the first pocket so the notches line up and pin into place. the front cut fabric should be right sideup and the pocket should be right side onto the garment. flip both front pieces over to pin the second pocket pieces into place. take these pieces to your sewing machine andstitch the pockets into position. stitch on the seam allowance line. be sure to stitch both pockets. trim your threads as you go for a neat finish. take the front pattern piece and stitch 1.5cm or 5/8 of an inch along the seam allowance into the corner.

leave the needle in the fabric, lift the footof the machine and turn the fabric around the needle. stitch a further 1.5cm or 5/8 of an inch along that seam allowance. using sharp scissors cut into the corner withoutgoing through the stitch line. repeat this with the other front piece. take both front cut pieces and lay them flat with the collar sides together, make sure that you have the wrong sides coming together. pin along the center back neck along the seamallowance line. take these pieces to your machine and stitchthem together. once stitched, trim away one side of the seamallowance, it doesn't matter which one.

fold over the remaining seam allowance andtuck underneath. pin the first part to get started and thencontinue to fold around as you stitch. this is known as a flat seam and will hideall your raw edges, perfect for a single layer collar. next we need to join the shoulder and theneck seams. this involves opening out the corner whereyou did the reinforcing. lay the right sides together of the back piecedown onto the right side of the front piece. pin along the collar edge starting at theflat seam so you know the piece is on the center back. you will see the reinforced corner will open out. pin the shoulder seams together, taking care to make sure you go right into the square corners.

check that you have your square corner and that it is right into the neck edge. stitch right next to the stitching line that you have already created. neaten this seam by zigzagging or using an over locker if you have one. now you need to neaten your pocket seams. this time instead of stitching both seams together, neaten each seam separately. make sure you do this for both pockets next you need to put the side seams together, lay one on top of the other with right sides together. make sure you match the side seams and the pocket bag perfectly pin the side seams together and all around the pocket bags

using your machine, starting at the armhole edge stitch all the way down the side seam including around the pocket bags. be sure to turn the fabric when you reach the pocket bag once the pocket bag is finished, continue down to the hem neaten this edge by zigzagging the seam allowance together, or you can use an over locker. repeat this process on both sides we are now at the last step, where we will do the hemming and arm holes. to create the hem, lay the garment flat on the table with the inside of the garment face up. fold the bottom edge around 1 cm or 1 inch and fold the edge on itself again and re-pin. this will get you started

depending how difficult your fabric is to handle you may be able to do this without pinning any further if not spend the time and pin the garment properly use this technique all the way around the hem and all the way around the armholes. take the garment to the machine and stitch the hem and armholes. if you are using a finer fabric, you could neaten with a very close zigzag. or if you have an over-locker you could do a baby locked edge. do a final press and you have completed the draped coat!

Sleeveless Chiffon Dress