Welcome Fall With This Easy Shift Dress
Can we take a minute to figure out where in the world summer went?! If you live in San Francisco, you might be saying the same thing as me — what summer? (It never got above 60 this year!) For the rest of you that have battled hot temperatures and humidity, you might be a little more excited about the chiller temperatures ahead. To get ready for the fall, we created a basic jersey shift dress for those in-between days. This dress is actually a breeze to make and is made out of two rectangles! Follow along to learn how to create your own.
Materials + Tools:
— 1 1/2 yards of cotton fabric
— sewing machine
— sewing pins
— fabric scissors
— measuring tape
Instructions:
1. Fold your fabric over and cut out a rectangle that measures the length of your wingspan by 12 inches. My rectangle measured 60 x 12 inches.
2. Fold your fabric over again and cut out a second rectangle that measures half of the size of your rib cage by the desired length of your dress. My rectangle measured 20 x 36 inches.
3. Find the center of your long rectangle and mark off the width of your second rectangle. Since my piece was 20 inches, I put marks at 20-inch and 40-inch measurements on my 60-inch rectangle. Sew along the edge of the rectangle from each mark to the outer opening of the rectangle.
4. Sew down the side of your second rectangle to create a tube of fabric. Pin the top edge of the tube to the center opening of your first rectangle. Sew together.
5. Find the center of the dress and cut a neckline in your desired shape.
Fold your jersey to create a rectangle that measures 12 inches by the length of your wingspan. Mine was 12 x 60 inches. This will be the top panel of your dress.
Fold your fabric again to create the second rectangle of your dress. This rectangle should measure to be half the size of your rib cage and the length from your rib cage to right above your knees. My dress measured 20 x 36 inches. (Later I trimmed the dress to be shorter, except it crept up on me and I cut it a bit too short. Always remember: Measure twice and cut once. Also remember to account for the fact that jersey will roll up on itself and become even shorter.)
Find the center of your long rectangle and from there measure the width of your second rectangle. My second rectangle was 20 inches so I created marks at 20 inches and 40 inches on my 60-inch long rectangle.
Sew along the open edge of the rectangle from your mark to the outer opening. This will create an opening in the center to which you can pin your second rectangle.
Time to give that second rectangle some love. Pin the long open edge together and then sew.
Pin the second rectangle to the top rectangle and then sew.
Find the center of the dress and cut out a neckline in your desired shape.
Long-sleeved shift dress FTW!
End of summer temperatures call for long billowy sleeves and bare legs to show off that summer glow :)
This is the perfect dress for weekend lounging with your main chicks. #Brunchtimeapproved
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