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Saturday, October 13, 2012

Fabulous Free Pattern Friday/The Perfect Travel Dress

For this dress I was inspired by the travel wardrobes I see many of you post. One of the bloggers that I feel is a master with a travel wardrobe is Margy of http://fool4fabric.blogspot.com/. She is absolutely incredible. I am convinced that she can take 6 garments on a month long trip and make it look like she has a new outfit every day. Check out her blog and see what I mean.
I am calling this dress,
The Perfect Travel Dress
So easy to do, just 4 rectangles, well actually 5 if I count the neck band. There are many ways to wear this dress as there are drawstrings in the shoulders and down the sides of the skirt.
Draw up the sleeves and it has a little different look.
The shirring in the top of the sleeve.
Draw up the skirt a bit for a little sexier look.
 Draw it up more and pair it with a pair of tights.
 Draw it up a whole lot more and it becomes a top.
 And of course the sleeves can be lowered or drawn up, whichever you like.
From the picture above and the picture below, you can see that the dress is just a rectangle across the top and another rectangle for the skirt.
To draft the dress, begin by measuring from the top of your shoulder, over your bust to the length that you would like the top portion to be. My measurement was 16". By the way, my fabric is knit. This dress does not have to be made from a knit, but if you do decide to make it from a woven fabric, you will need to include a zipper down the center back or you will never get into it.
My fabric was 60" wide. I used the width of my fabric and cut the rectangles for the top portion of my dress across the width.
The skirt measurements will be your hip measurement, plus at least 1" for ease, 2" is usually better. I always like to have a little extra and take it up if I choose. If there isn't enough fabric, there just isn't enough fabric. So your hip measurement plus 2" of ease by the length that you would like your skirt to measure.
To cut the neckline in the top of your dress, find the center.
Measure over 3" on either side of center and mark. Measure down from center 2 1/2". Connect your marks with a smooth curved line and cut open the front of your neck. For the back you will once again measure over 3" and then measure down only 1/2". I wanted my back neckline to sit a little higher at my neck. If you would like a more open neckline, you can always cut more out, just remember, you can't add back. Put the top portion of your dress aside for now as we will work on the skirt portion of the dress.
Begin by putting the hem in the 2 skirt panels. You do not want the side seams sewn together at this point. Once the hem in sewn in, sew the side seams and try the skirt on. We want some shape to the top portion of the skirt, so pinch in the excess fabric at your waistline. Once that is sewn in place, you will be able to sew the underarm seam of the top of the dress. Leave an opening for the waist of the skirt.
Before you attach the skirt to the top, sew the hem in the sleeves. Note that we have not sewn the shoulder seam of the top at this point. Once the hem is sewn in the sleeves, sew the shoulder seams together.
Now, baste the skirt to the top. It is important that you baste the skirt to the top as it is easier to take out basting stitches than it is regular stitches. Try the dress on. You may want to take in the sides of the skirt a bit more. The weight of the dress can change how the dress sits on the body. If you are happy with the fit, take out the basting seam.
To create the casing for the shirring cords, press open the seams on the skirt and the shoulder seams of the top portion of the dress. Stitch down the seam leaving about a 1/2" opening that your cord will go through.
Cut your cords. I cut mine 1 1/2" wide. You will need 4 cords for the shoulder seams, 1 for each side, you have 2 seams with 2 sides, so 4 cords in total. You will also need four cords for the 2 side seams of the skirt. Sew the cords with a 1/4" seam allowance. I did not trim my seams. Turn the cords to the right side with a turner or a safety pin will work as well.
Thread the cords through the side seam casings. Anchor them in place at the top of your skirt and at the neckline of the top of your dress.
Sew the top of the dress to the skirt.
In the above picture, the waist of the top is sewn to the waist of the skirt.
The final step will be your neckband. I cut mind 3" wide and folded it over. This resulted in a 1" neckband. 3" folded in half is 1 1/2" and then I sewed the band to the neckline with a 1/2" seam allowance.
I'm looking forward to taking this garment on a trip....somewhere! I think I can get by with a pair of brown pants, a ruan, a pair of tights, a jacket to match my pants and one other top and I should be set with the ability to make quite a few changes.
Good Luck if you decide to give it a try.



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29 comments:

  1. Thanks for the shout-out, Rhonda! I'm going to see if this top/dress can find a place in my next travel wardrobe!

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    1. I would be honored. You are such an inspiration.

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  2. Clever indeed. Two or three of these with some variations and your travel wardrobe is pretty much ready to go. Lovely

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  3. I'm new to your site so please pardon my questions, but what is "free pattern fridays"

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    1. So happy to have you Linda. To explain, on Friday, at least I shoot for Friday, I post drafting instructions for simple garments made with rectangles, squares, circles, triangles or a combination of the shapes. I hope that it inspires people to try a little drafting. There is no actual pattern, but instructions on how to do the pattern.

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  4. Fantastic dress, Rhonda. And I love the fabric you chose. Thanks!

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    1. Thanks Renee. The fabric came from a wonderful store in Houston, TX called High Fashion Fabrics.

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  5. This is really rather brilliant! I may give this one a try, thanks!

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    1. Thanks Jilly! Let me know if you do make it up.

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  6. Wow, I am always so impressed with your creations. Thanks for also sharing how you to create them.

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  7. I'm a little confused by your second to last picture where you attach the skirt to the top. It appears you've attached the right side of the skirt to the wrong side if the top. Did I miss something?

    I'm watching a TV show in which Lucy Liu is wearing a dress that could easily be made from this pattern...with a few modifications. Think her costumer reads your blog?

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    1. I would love to see the dress and I would love it if a Hollywood person started reading my blog! That would be incredible.
      To answer your question, what you see in that picture is the top portion of the dress is turned wrong side out. The bottom of the top is being attached to the waist of the skirt. If that isn't clear, let me know and I will try to explain in another way.

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  8. This is an amazingly easy, and easy to wear dress/blouse! I cantwait to mak see what I can do with it. It looks like it would be great for my step-daughter who has 3 little ones. She can be comfortable, yet stylish and have the flexibility of switchingit out as needed. Love it!

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  9. I pinned it. It's on the list for this summer.

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  10. Hello! i think this is just BEAUTIFUL! Im hoping to make this soon i just have a question - im having trouble understanding how to create the casing for the shirring cords. How long did you make them? and then you anchor them in place at the top of your skirt and at the neckline of the top of your dress? what does this mean? sorry for the stupidity if this is a simple thing!

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    1. To create the casings, press open your seams and then edge stitch them down. This will give you a casing to run the drawstring through. The length of the drawstrings will be determined by how long your skirt is and how long your shoulder seams are. Before you sew the skirt to the top, thread the drawstrings through the side seam casings. And before you sew the collar to the top of the dress, thread the drawstrings through the shoulder seam casings. Hope this helps. Please feel free to ask any other questions.

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    2. this makes a lot more sense, thank you :)

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    3. Oh good! Please let me know if you have any other questions. Good Luck!!

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  11. Hi Rhonda, I have just discovered your website!!! I love this very versatile dress, there are 3 looks in one. I am making this dress this week. I live in Houston, and have shopped at High Fashion Fabrics too!!! Thank you for sharing your creations, and allowing us to copy them.

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  12. Rhonda, I have a question about the casing. I am trying to visualize this. I understand that the hems are already sewn in the skirt and the shoulders before the casings are made in the seams. Once the casing are made for the drawstrings, it seems that the hems will not allow the drawstrings to go all the the way through. Would you shed some light on this for me. I am a visual learner. Sorry....

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    1. Hi Patricia, so happy that you found the dress and that you like it :)
      I will try to explain the casings. Let's use the skirt as the example. Fold up the hem and stitch it down. I like to use a double needle, but two rows of stitching work just fine. Once you have stitched down the hem, sew the side seams. Remember, you will need to try the skirt on and pinch in the sides so you can get a great fit in the midriff, waist and hips. Once you are pleased with the fit of the skirt, press the seam allowance open. Edge stitch the seam allowance down. Since the hem has already been sewn in, the casing will be open down the entire side of the skirt. Now you can make your drawstrings and insert them into the casings.
      I hope this helps. I think that once you start sewing, it will all make sense, but if you still need some help, please don't hesitate to ask. Good luck!!
      High Fashion is just the best!!!!!! The only problem though is that a little bug mages to get into my wallet when I walk in the door and it eats my money :)

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  13. Thanks Rhonda! I got it. This makes sense! What a beautiful dress. I am starting on mine today after work. Have a great day!!!

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    1. So happy. I am going to Denver this afternoon to tape the program on this dress, YEA! If you run into any problems, let me know. I may not be able to get back to you until Thursday, but I will do my best.

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  14. I just learned about this dress from Cenetta's blog (Mahogany Stylist). Thank you so much for posting these instructions. This sounds like something I can do.

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  15. Google ate my comment.

    Thank you so much for posting this.

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  16. So cool! I might make this for my cruise; a dressy blouse one night, a dress another! Thanks for sharing your work so generously.

    Do you know what type of knit this was?

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    1. Thanks! The fabric has a 4-way stretch, but a knit was stretch only on the crosswise will also work. Enjoy your cruise!!!

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  17. This is really cool! I don't have a whole lot of time to sew since I am a voice major at Capital University. This is my senior year, though, and I am very hard to fit since I am an 'apple' body type. My mother in law and I plan on designing and sewing both of my dresses for the recital. I think I could make this out of my botched Womens Chorus dress. It is plain black, but if I added some 'bling' to it - it just might make an awesome recital dress!

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