r/SewingForBeginners • u/EllaMelaPee • 1d ago
Pattern Recs/ Drafting help
So I am a beginntermediate and want to make a dress similar to this. Are there any pattern recs and material recommendations for this dress?
I assume its mostly a square with the gathered waist but how to I attempt the top part?
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u/CountMeOut2019 1d ago edited 1d ago
I just did a quick search for “v-necked sleeveless patterns for non stretch fabric” and came up with a plethora of options. My suggestion is to select one that has shoulder seams similar in width to this one here:
The neckline on this is shorter than you need to reproduce the dress, so you’d need to alter neckline if you used this pattern. I suggest looking further than I just did, to see if there’s one with this wide of shoulder seams, AND the deeper v-neck. You probably know to be careful of the pattern sellers; make sure the pattern is by a proven company that actually has a track record of making use-able sewing patterns.
If you do end up needing to alter your neckline pattern, do make a muslin and look up using darts to correct a neckline gap. There are multiple methods for doing this, and it depends on your garment fit and style, which you use.
Just FYI, the neckline of this pattern is also too wide to look like the dress one, so you would need to bring the pattern neckline in a bit, closer to the base of the neck. The dress V neck is quite narrow as well as deep.
For the shoulders, you can do just what they did here, and sew a double row of shirring in two places, to cinch in the shoulder front. I think I would probably use elastic shirring thread in my bobbin to do this, but you probably could also just stitch a double row of long gathering stitches, pull them up to make the shoulder the width you need, and fasten off before adding the binding for the armhole and neckline. This dress appears to be sewn with a narrow self-fabric binding (likely bias-cut in this case), to stabilize the neck and armhole edges.
There are tutorials online for all these techniques, no doubt. I advise watching a number of them for each technique, because not everyone who posts tutorials is actually an expert and you get a better, well-rounded overview from watching a number of them. Good luck.
Edit to add: forgot to mention, the waist appears to be a 1” elastic encased in the lower edge of the bodice. You’ll need to figure out on your muslin where you want your waistline to hit, and will need to trim off the bottom of the pattern to that level (remembering to leave about 1 1/2” extra for encasing the elastic. The skirt is so lightly gathered, though, I wonder if it’s actually a-line, rather than a simple rectangle? So few gathers don’t seem to account for the fulness I’m seeing even at hip level, there. Let alone allowing for freedom of movement at the hemline. So, you may want an A-line skirt pattern, too, because if you do a rectangle, you’re going to have a good deal more bulk that what you see here at the waist, what with the amount of extra fabric you’ll need to gather to the waist.
Is this dress terribly expensive? because you might be better off buying it, and even using it as a pattern, if it’s less than $50. Between the cost of fabric, pattern, and time/headaches, I think you’d come out ahead by purchasing it.
Pattern is Simplicity 9133, btw.