Boat neck tunic dress pattern

This is yet another easy one to sew and will result in a nice looking garment. You see how Kate Middleton wear it to an event? You can also do that! This boat neck half sleeve tunic dress is made to give you comfort even when you are attending a not-so-serious professional meeting. And it is versatile, you can wear it to almost everywhere you can think of – just mix it with appropriate accessories!

I really like how Kate mix this red dress with simple accessories: a small pendant, black purse, black heels and a pony tail. She looks effortlessly stylish and so comfortable. And I have learned a lesson by watching the royals: keep it simple. You will look much more elegant with nicely done hair and light makeup than dressing in complicating layers with messy hair and a carefully made up face.

The pattern is created in pdf format using A4 paper. I can also create the pattern in other paper sizes (A0 to A4, Letter, Tabloid), so please inform me if you need them.

Print the patterns on A4 paper at actual size/no scaling/100%. Not sure how to print and cut the patterns? Check the guide here.

Do you want to add side seam pockets to the pattern for additional convenience? Just go ahead because it is too easy, just follow the quick instruction here.

Again, happy sewing! I look forward to seeing your masterpiece!

XOXO

Tiên the Little Sewist

Cutting instruction:

After taping down all the pages following the instruction, the overall layout of the pattern pieces is much like this (the arrangement of pattern pieces will vary a bit with sizes because I want to utilize all space to result in least number of pages):

The cutting instruction is for the garment with facings. If you choose to sew it with bias binding, skip the front facing and back facing pieces. If you choose to sew with bodice lining, skip the facing pieces and cut a set of front and back pieces in lining fabric.

A. Front - 1pcs

B. Back  - 2pcs

C. Sleeve - 2pcs

D. Front Facing - 1pcs

E. Back Facing - 2pcs

Download links for the dress:

Check for your size in the Size Chart before downloading. Not finding your size? Comment your height, bust – waist – hip measurements in the comment box below and I will send you the custom-made pattern for you as soon as I can!

Petite XS	Regular XS
Petite S	Regular S
Petite M	Regular M
Petite L	Regular L
Petite XL	Regular XL
Petite XXL	Regular XXL

Adding side seam pockets to the dress

We all agree that pockets add much of convenience to any garments, don’t we? I love it when I go out not taking along my bag and still have my hands free with the phone in the pocket. Or just put my hands into the pockets when I feel I have nothing to do – or when I feel not very confident. That is why I often sew pockets to my casual dresses. For the formal dresses, I automatically sew it with no pockets – the convenience does not always go along well with luxurious look.

And you may wonder why I do not add pockets to any of the dress patterns I share on my blog. Because you can do it yourself in just minutes! You can choose almost any dress and add this kind of pockets to put your hands and little things. But be careful with dresses with close fit – if you don’t want the pockets to lump up on your garment. I normally would not add inseam pockets onto sheath dresses.

To those who would love to have pockets added to their dresses, this is a really quick tutorial for adding side seam pockets to almost any dress that you are going to sew.

First, download the pocket pattern here and print it on A4 paper, or just draw one yourself, but you need to make sure you can put your hand inside of the pocket. You should also make the opening of the pocket (the straight line in the image) smaller to keep the stuff from falling out of the pockets. Cut out 2 pairs of pocket bag pieces.

Next, snip notches at the side seams of the skirt part of your dress (both front and back) to mark the start of the pockets. For dresses, I recommend you to place the pockets about 3 centimeters/about 1 inch below your natural waist line so you can put your hands in easily. For other garments like jackets, tops or trousers, you will need to check to make sure the pocket placement is good.

Lay the pocket piece flat on the main fabric of your dress right sides together, the top of the pocket aligns with the notch on the main fabric. Pin into place and sew the side seam of the dress and the pocket together. Sew a slightly smaller seam allowance than usual so that when you close the dress seam, the pockets will not be exposed. Repeat with other pocket pieces. Turn the pocket pieces out and press.

Place the front and back pieces of the dress right sides together, pin down the side seams and around the pocket pieces. Then sew the side seams as normal. When you get to the top of the pocket, stitch on 0.5 centimeter and pivot to sew the two pocket pieces together and continue down to the rest of the side seam.

Finish the rest of the dress as usual, and you will have a dress with inseam pockets for extra convenience!

Easy, huh?

Simple 3/4 sleeve sheath dress with waistband

Hi there,

I think many of you wonder why sometimes I use strange English huh? I am not a native English speaker, and writing this blog is one of the ways I use to practice my English which is not used much in daily life. So please don’t laugh at me if I write something weird!

Back to the topic about sewing your own clothes. I know that many of you visit my blog looking for a simple dress pattern to sew, and I have considered a lot about making the patterns both easy and classy. Easy meaning it needs to be simple with not too many details (because for inexperienced sewers, the more details, the more errors – I went through this stage so I really know it). And classy, of course, meaning it has to be flattering and fashionable. That is why you are going to see a lot of timeless classic designs on this blog, most of them are worn by celebrities and royals, some are designer dresses (which are sold on the high end fashion websites like Moda Operandi or Nordstrom for thousands of dollars).

You may notice that sometimes the patterns are not made exactly the same with the original designs, mostly because I changed some details to make them simpler for the less experienced sewers. I will try my best to keep them as close to the originals as possible and not to ruin the whole designs.

The pattern I am sharing today is yet another simple design – the 3/4 sleeve sheath dress with waistband. And of course it has a lot of space for you to improvise. You can either use the pattern as is, or add a bit of detail – like a flounce sleeve, or a contrast waistband – to make it more interesting. This dress is modest enough to wear to work or formal event. Of course you can even wear it to a party if you choose the appropriate fabric and prints.

This type of dress is worn a lot by the royals. I have seen Kate Middleton, queen Letizia of Spain, crown princess Mary of Denmark wearing similar style – only different in colors and fabrics. So if you want to look elegant like them, pick up your scissors and start cutting your own dresses!

The pattern is created in pdf format using A4 paper. I can also create the pattern in other paper sizes (A0 to A4, Letter, Tabloid), so please inform me if you need them.

Not sure how to print and cut the patterns? Check the guide here.

Again, happy sewing! I look forward to seeing your masterpiece!

XOXO

Tiên the Little Sewist

Download links for the bateau neckline 3/4 sleeve sheath dress:

Check for your size in the Size Chart before downloading. Not finding your size? Comment your height, bust – waist – hip measurements in the comment box below and I will send you the custom-made pattern for you!

Petite XS	Regular XS
Petite S	Regular S
Petite M	Regular M
Petite L	Regular L
Petite XL	Regular XL
Petite XXL	Regular XXL

Instruction for cutting:

A. Front Skirt - 1pcs
B. Back Skirt - 2pcs
C. Sleeve - 2pcs
D. Front - 1pcs
E. Back - 2pcs
F. Front Facing - 1pcs
G. Back Facing - 2pcs
H. Front Waistband - 1pcs
I. Back Waistband - 2pcs

Peter pan collar 8 panel skirt dress pattern

Today I am sharing a pattern that would take you a bit of time – from cutting the pattern pieces, the fabric to sewing the whole dress. But it’s worth investing your time, because the dress is beautiful – believe me!

I found this beauty when surfing the Internet, and I do not remember exactly what the brand it is, but definitely it is a hi-end fashion brand, and the price is not cheap at all! I thought: “Why do I have to look and dream of it when I can sew one myself?” Of course I cannot get the exactly same fabric, but it’s not difficult to find a similar one – but less costly. From that day on, this is one of my very long list of to-make-apparels.

This dress features a fit and flare silhouette, with all front bodice darts transferred to waist darts, and a 8-panel skirt. It has short sleeves and a contrast collar. The ribbon is separate from the dress, and you can attach it or remove it to your liking. I think you all know how to make a ribbon bow, don’t you?

The 8-panel skirt looks sleek, but it requires you to take extra careful steps when sewing, because just a tiny bit of skewed seam, and you will find it super difficult to align the seam neatly. I recommend you to pin down every seam and re-measure after sewing. It of course takes you some time, but it will save you a lot of time adjusting.

The original dress has a shirt collar (with stand) but in the pattern I changed it to a flat collar. You can ask me why? Because of course flat collar is easier to sew. And my blog is created mostly for newbies – I know the experienced ones would not have to download ready-made patterns from my blog- and newbies are afraid of collars with stand. This is what I’ve been through – I used to give up every time I saw a shirt collar. Although the fear has faded over time, it existed. For those who are not really sure how to sew and attach a flat collar to the dress, please read this article on Meghan Nielsen blog, it demonstrates the steps very clearly: Banksia Sewalong: How to sew the collar.

As usual, the pattern is created in pdf format using A4 paper. I can also create the pattern in other paper sizes (A0 to A4, Letter, Tabloid), so please inform me if you need them.

Not sure how to print and cut the patterns? Check the guide here.

Again, happy sewing! I look forward to seeing your masterpiece!

XOXO

Tiên the Little Sewist

Download links for the Collared 8 panel skirt dress pattern:

Check for your size in the Size Chart before downloading. Not finding your size? Comment your height, bust – waist – hip measurements in the comment box below and I will send you the custom-made pattern for you!

Petite XS	Regular XS
Petite S	Regular S
Petite M	Regular M
Petite L	Regular L
Petite XL	Regular XL
Petite XXL	Regular XXL

Boat neck sheath dress pattern

(Scroll down to the end of the post for download links)

This is yet another basic piece – the boat neck half sleeve sheath dress. You can find lots of dresses this style on Asos – and I must admit that they do have beautiful sheath dresses. However, I rarely buy one, because I can sew this type of dress in no time Don’t say I am stingy – I come from a middle income country with GDP per capita at 2000 USD per year, I don’t want to spend too much on things I can make. This modest dress is an office ready baby. Just mix it with black or nude high heels and a silver necklace, you will have a complete outfit for any professional meeting.

The dress pattern I share in this post has a straight skirt. If you prefer a pencil design, narrow down the side seams, starting from the fullest part of the hip (marked with notches) down to hemline. It is a really quick modification, mark a point at the hemline at the desired width of skirt hemline and draw a straight line (the red lines) from the hip notch to the marked point. Then redraw the seam allowance (the blue lines) and cut the pieces. You can see in the demonstration below:

The pattern is created in pdf format using A4 paper. I can also create the pattern in other paper sizes (A0 to A4, Letter, Tabloid), so please inform me if you need them.

Not sure how to print and cut the patterns? Check the guide here.

Do you want to add side seam pockets to the pattern for additional convenience? Just go ahead because it is too easy, just follow the quick instruction here.

Again, happy sewing! I look forward to seeing your masterpiece!

XOXO

Tiên the Little Sewist

Cutting instruction:

After taping down all the pages following the instruction, the overall layout of the pattern pieces is much like this (the arrangement of pattern pieces will vary a bit with sizes because I want to utilize all space to result in least pages):

The cutting instruction is for the dress with facings. If you choose to sew the dress with bias binding, skip the front facing and back facing pieces. If you choose to sew the dress with bodice lining, skip the facing pieces and cut a set of front and back pieces in lining fabric.

A. Front Skirt - 1pcs
B. Back Skirt - 2pcs
C. Front - 1pcs
D. Back - 2pcs
E. Sleeve - 2pcs
F. Front Facing - 1pcs
G. Back Facing – 2pcs

Download links for the dress:

Check for your size in the Size Chart before downloading. Not finding your size? Comment your height, bust – waist – hip measurements in the comment box below and I will send you the custom-made pattern for you!

Petite XS	Regular XS
Petite S	Regular S
Petite M	Regular M
Petite L	Regular L
Petite XL	Regular XL
Petite XXL	Regular XXL