The next dress in the series is the One Shoulder Dress. The history of this style of dress can be traced back many, many years- all the way back to the Ancient Greeks and even as far back as the Ancient Egyptians. It is a style of dress that has proven longevity and a style that has gracefully moved on with the times.
Traditionally this style of dress has a scoop neckline at the front and back. More recent designers and fashion houses (such as Elie Saab, Balenciaga and Victoria Beckham) have taken this style to the next level and given the neckline a little more edge.
Bardot Dress | Slip Dress | Maxi Dress | Shift Dress | Overlay Dress | One Shoulder Dress | Strapless Dress | Long Sleeve Dress | Cold Shoulder Dress | High Neck Dress
For this dress I used Butterick pattern B4343 in a printed jacquard fabric. The fabric behaved a lot like a boucle, so I had to work relatively quickly once I started to handle the fabric, in order to reduce the fraying at the edges. The pattern for this dress is an asymmetric princess seam, which makes it a great pattern for printed fabric as none of the pattern pieces are cut on the fold.
I chose to make option A. The first instruction is to ease-stitch between the small circles on the front. These stitches will help the curved edge of the front fit onto the curved edges of the front side panels. Pin right-side front and left-side front to the front of the dress, adjusting the ease, baste and stitch.
Staystitch above the notches on dress back. Unlike the seams on the front of the dress – which are curved to compliment the body’s form – the back seams will need to lay as flat as possible. Pin the right side back, and left side back, to side edges clipping the seam as necessary. Stitch.
Before stitching the side seams of the front and back, I neatened the edges using my overlocker. I made sure to keep the matching reference points. To join the front and back at side seams, I used basting thread to mark the notches onto the seam allowance. I then stitched the side seams, leaving left side open above large circle.
Now it’s time to insert the zipper. The pattern instructions use a standard zipper but I chose to use an invisible zipper to continue practicing techniques used in this series. Once the zipper is inserted it’s time to move onto the lining.
Form the lining in the same way as the dress, disregarding the reference to the zipper. Ease-stitch front between small circles to form a curved seam and stay-stitch back above notch to form a flattened seam.
With right sides together, pin lining to garment. Stitch the upper – neck – edge. And below the small circles of the left front and left back armhole edges. Understitch lining, press and turn lining inside. Turn in remaining seam allowance, of the center back, and slipstitch to zipper tape, keeping clear of zipper teeth.
Open out lining at shoulders. Pin front and back together at shoulders; pin lining edges together. Stitch in one continuous seam.
Turn down lining seam allowance along remaining armhole edges. Press and slip-stitch pressed edges together.
On to the finishing of the dress.
Sew hook and eye to opening edge above zipper. Cut two 81cm pieces of seam binding (I used ribbon) to form hanger loops. Fold in half lengthwise; stitch close to edge. Baste shorter ends together and turn up 1.5cm of raw edge and press. Sew ends of hanger loops 18cm below armhole edge securely to lining. To hold hanger loops in place make thread loops to feed them through just below the armhole edge.
All that is left to do now, is hem the dress and lining separately. And catch-stitch the finished lining to dress in side seam allowance just above the edge of the dress hem.
This dress was a dream to make. It is part of the ‘Butterick Fast & Easy Range’ and it definitely lives up to its name! It was really quick to cut out and simple to construct.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. I hope you will stick around for the rest of the series. And I look forward to seeing all your makes!
Until next time.
A
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