How to Make Your Own Summer Dresses

With the warm weather set to stay, a simple yet effective summer dress is always the go to for women. So we have helped out a bit and put together a 3 easy summer sewing patterns for you to make your own summer dresses this season...

1. Maxi Dress

What you will need:

• Jersey Knit Fabric (108 inches)
• Thread to match your fabric
• Scissors
• 3/4 inch non-roll elastic
• Sewing Machine
• Twin Needle (optional)
• Ruler
• Pattern Pieces

1. Wrap the fabric around your body one and half times to determine your skirt width. Next, measure from just below your chest to the floor and use this as your skirt length measurement. Cut your fabric to create a long rectangle using your skirt width by your skirt length measurements.

2. Since you will be adding pockets, you need to have a front and back piece to your skirt. If you are adding pockets, simply cut down one long side of your fabric to create two equal rectangles (a front piece and a back piece). Then lay your skirt pieces to the side for now.

3. Take the bodice pattern pieces and cut out one bodice back on the fold and two bodice fronts. Pin the bodice front to the back, right sides together, at the shoulder. Sew it together at the shoulders.

4. Press the shoulder seams open. Next, take the sleeve edge and create a finished edge by ironing 1/4 inch and then another 1/4 inch towards the wrong side. Edge stitch next to the ironed edge. Do the same thing for the front of the dress bodice, ironing all the way around the neckline. This is where you can opt to use a twin needle. It allows you to create two even lines of stitching on the front while making a small zig zag stitch on the back which allows the fabric to keep some stretch. The bodice is loose enough that you can stitch this with a straight stitch using a regular needle and will still be able to take the dress on and off easily.

5. Then pin the bodice right sides together under the armholes and stitch. Note that this will be a very small amount.

6. Next take your bodice and turn it right side out. Overlap the front bodice pieces, laying the right piece on top of the left and matching the center line. Pin the pieces together and baste.

7. Go back to your skirt pieces and sew the two skirt pieces right side together for about 5 inches down on each side starting at the top of the skirt. This will allow you to make your elastic casing and attach it to the top prior to determining where your pockets will go. It is now time to create the casing. Keeping the skirt inside out, take the top of your skirt and iron down a 1 inch hem all the way around the top. Then iron another 1 and 1/4 inch all the way around. Stitch next to the edge of the casing, leaving an opening for the elastic.

8. Then take the elastic and wrap it around your rib cage under your chest. Cut off the needed amount. Do not pull the elastic tight while measuring it. Thread your elastic through your casing using a safety pin. Once it is pulled through, overlap the two ends by about an inch and stitch them together. Then finish stitching around the casing edge to finish off where you had left it open to insert the elastic.

9. Attach the bodice to the skirt. First mark the front center of the skirt, back center of the skirt, and back center of the bodice with pins. Use these as guides when pinning the skirt and bodice together, lining up all pins and matching the center of the bodice front (where it overlaps) with the center front pin. Pin the right sides together and stitch. The easiest way to pin the two together is to have the skirt right side out and slide the bodice (inside out) over the skirt upside down. Stitch at the top of the elastic. When you sew the two parts together you need to pull and stretch the elastic quite a bit to get the skirt and bodice to fit together. If you find there is way too much fabric for you to pull, you can gather the top in places first. 

10. Now it is time to add your pockets. Put on your dress and determine where you would like your pockets to fall. Mark this on your dress. Cut out 4 pocket pieces and attach the pockets.

11. Finally, pin and hem your dress to the desired length.

2. Short Sleeve Swing Dress

What you will need: 

• 72 inches of soft stretchy knit fabric (more or less depending on your desired length)
• Matching all-purpose thread

1. First let’s cut out all the pieces. You’ll need a back, front, 2 sleeves and 2 neckline lining pieces. Use a tank top or tank dress that you own, fold it in half, and then lay it flat on your fabric with the fold of the fabric matching up with the fold of your tank. Cut around it (adding a 1/2″ seam allowance), and then adding your desired length and a flared width. Do the same for the front piece, making the neckline lower on this one. Use a fitted 3/4 sleeve from a shirt that you own and use it as a guide to cut out the 2 sleeves, then use your front and back pieces as guide to cut the correct widths of neckline pieces.

2. With right sides together, pin the front and back pieces together at the shoulders and sew together.

3. With right sides together, pin the top of the SLEEVE and the top of the shoulder together, as shown. Continue down the rest of the arm hole, pinning the sleeve in place.

4. Sew the sleeve to the arm hole with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the other sleeve.

5. With right sides together, sew from the elbow to the knee with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Make sure your seams match up at the armpit!

6. With right sides together, sew your neckline pieces together to make a circle. Make sure this circle is slightly smaller than your dress neckline so it has to be stretched to fit around.

7. Then, with right sides together, pin the neckline circle the neckline of the dress, matching them up the shoulder seams and then stretching evenly so it fits around the neckline. Sew with a 1/2″ seam allowance around the entire neckline, stretching slightly as you sew so the pieces lay flat. Trim the seam allowance and then tuck the lining inside the dress and press flat.

8. Using a wide stitch, top stitch around the neckline to tack the lining in place. Then hem the sleeves and the dress to your desired length.

3. Sleeveless Summer Dress

What you will need:

• Knit Fabric
• Fitted Tank Top to trace
• Tracing Paper
• Pencil
• General Sewing Supplies

1. To create the front pattern piece, fold a fitted tank top in half and lay it on top of the tracing paper. Trace around the tank top adding about 1/2 inch around the outside for the seam allowance. In an A-line, flared shape, add the desired length.

2. To create the back pattern pieces, trace the front pattern piece that was created in step one, but with a higher neckline. Trim the pattern piece in half 3 inches below the armscyes, adding in an additional 1/2 inch for the seam allowance for each pattern piece.

3. Using the pattern pieces, cut out the fabric.

4. With right sides together, pin the back pattern pieces together. Using a stretch stitch, sew with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

5. Press the seam allowance up and sew the seam allowance to the top portion of the dress.

6. With right sides together, pin the front pattern piece and the back pattern piece together at the shoulders. Using a serger or a stretch stitch, sew with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

7. With right sides together, pin the front pattern piece and the back pattern piece together at the side seams. Using a serger or a stretch stitch, sew with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

8. Cut out a strip of fabric 2.5 inches by the length of the neckline. This will be the neckband.

9. Pin the neckband to the back center of the neck, right sids together. Gently stretch the neckband while sewing the neckband to the dress. Stop 1 inch short and sew the short ends of the neckband together. Trim the excess length from the neckband, press the seam allowance open, and finish attaching the neckband.

10. Press the seam allowance down.

11. Hem the armhole and the bottom of the dress or leave it raw.