Tailored Contrast Lapel Dress
Introducing a sophisticated women's sewing pattern for a tailored pencil dress featuring a distinctive wrap-style front, sharp contrast lapels, and a defined waistband.
When To Wear
This tailored dress is designed for professional and elegant wear, making it an ideal choice for:
- Professional Settings: Ideal for office wear, business meetings, and presentations.
- Elegant Daywear: Perfect for smart lunches, conferences, or sophisticated daytime events.
- Formal Occasions: a polished choice for semi-formal gatherings or evening engagements where elegance is key.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: a sleek, fitted pencil silhouette that accentuates the figure.
Neckline & Collar: a deep V-neckline framed by wide, notched lapels in a contrasting fabric.
Front Closure: a stylish wrap-style front secured by two decorative buttons on the overlap at the waist.
Sleeves: Three-quarter length, set-in sleeves finished with contrasting turned-up cuffs and decorative buttons.
Waist: a tailored horizontal waistband panel defines the waist.
Back Closure: Features a concealed zipper closure at the center back.
Back Detail: a small, rounded tab detail at the back neckline.
Hem & Length: Knee-length straight hem with a functional back vent for ease of movement.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Requires careful construction of collars, lapels, a concealed zipper, and a back vent, along with precise fitting.
Fabric Recommendations
Choose dress-weight fabrics with some body for a structured yet elegant drape, suitable for both the main garment and contrast details:
- Dress fabrics made from natural or blended fibers
- Contrast fabric for trim elements (lapels, cuffs)
Additional Supplies
- Concealed zipper
- Fusible interfacing
- 3 buttons
Cutter's Must
Attention! First of all, print out the paper patterns and lay them out on the fabric width (fabric width can be from 90 cm to 150 cm) to determine how much material you will need (don't forget to account for paired and symmetrical pieces). When stitching pieces, pay attention to the notches - they must match!
- From main fabric:
- Back – 2 pieces
- Lower front – 1 piece on fold
- Front waistband - 1 piece
- Upper front - 2 pieces
- Sleeve - 2 pieces
- Facing - 2 pieces
- Back neckline facing - 2 pieces
- From contrasting fabric:
- Lapel - 4 pieces
- Collar - 4 pieces
- Cuff - 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing:
- Facing - 2 pieces
- Back neckline facing - 2 pieces
- Lapel - 2 pieces
- Collar - 2 pieces
- Cuff - 2 pieces
Sewing Instructions
- Fuse interfacing to the designated pieces.
- Stitch darts on back and front pieces, press waist dart depths towards the center of the pieces, and bust darts upwards.
- On the left back piece, trim 5 cm along the vertical edge of the slit. On both back pieces, fuse interfacing to the slit from the wrong side. On the right side, mark the center seam line (slit fold line). Press the left along the slit fold line, and on the right, press only the allowance of the right side of the slit (6 cm) to the wrong side. Align the pieces along the center seam and secure at the upper edge of the slit. Overlock the center back seam separately on each piece. Overlock the slit allowances. Stitch the center back seam from the zipper mark to the slit corner. Clip the corner of the slit seam allowance on the right piece. Press open the center seam allowances, press the slit allowances and secure them with machine stitching. Insert the zipper.
- Fold lapel pieces right sides together and stitch the outer edge. Clip allowances at curves, trim at corners, turn the piece right side out and press.
- Fold collar pieces right sides together and stitch along the ends, outer edge, and center back seam. Clip allowances at curves, trim at corners, turn the piece right side out and press.
- Stitch shoulder seams, press allowances towards the back and overlock.
- Stitch collars and lapels into the neckline edge, press allowances.
- Stitch shoulder seams of facings and back neckline facings, press allowances open. Overlock the outer edge. Fold the facing with the front piece right sides together (collars and lapels are positioned between them) and stitch the neckline edge and center front edge. Turn the facing with the neckline facing to the wrong side, straighten, press. Secure to shoulder seams and zipper tape. Overlap the right front piece over the left and secure the pieces at the lower edge.
- Stitch the front waistband to the upper front, press allowances towards the waistband and overlock. Stitch the lower front to the front waistband, press allowances towards the waistband and overlock.
- Stitch side seams, press allowances towards the back and overlock.
- Stitch sleeve seams, press allowances towards the back and overlock. Fold and secure pleats at the sleeve cap (depths directed towards the center of the cap). Set sleeves into armholes, press allowances and overlock.
- Fold the cuff in half lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch the ends from the fold to the mark. Trim allowances at the corner, clip at the mark. Form the cuff into a loop and stitch the sections from the mark to the lower edge. Turn the cuff right side out, straighten, press. Align the cuff with the wrong side of the sleeve, matching the seam on the cuff with the mark on the sleeve, and stitch. Press allowances and overlock. Turn the cuff to the right side.
- Overlock the bottom edge of the garment, press to the wrong side and topstitch.
- Sew a button on the front, securing the right. Sew buttons to the cuffs, matching marks.
