Sheath Dress Yoke Neckline Side Peplums
A women's fitted sleeveless sheath dress with a waist seam, a scoop neckline framed by a curved band, short peplums set into the darts of the skirt and a concealed zipper with a slit in the centre back seam.
When To Wear
- At the office in summer, or under a jacket in cooler months.
- For daytime receptions and dinners.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted sheath with a seam at the waist; darts in the upper front and back and in the lower front and back.
Length: Just above the knee.
Neckline: The scoop of the upper front is edged with a self-lined, interfaced décolleté band. A curved band, cut double, joins the upper front to the cap pieces and the back and forms a frame around the neckline.
Sleeves: Short cap pieces at the front, sewn to the upper back along the shoulder; armholes finished with a folded 4 cm bias strip topstitched along the fold.
Waist: Two-layer peplums, an upper laid over a lower, hems turned and topstitched, inserted into the slashed darts of the lower front and back at the sides.
Back: Centre back seam with a concealed zipper and a slit at the hem, reinforced 0.2 cm from the edge.
Finishing: Hem turned up 2 cm and topstitched.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. A banded neckline built from several faced pieces, peplums set into darts, bias-bound armholes and a concealed zipper.
Fabric Recommendations
Dress fabrics from natural or blended fibres.
Additional Supplies
- Concealed zipper
- Fusible interfacing (neckline and décolleté facings)
Cutter's Must
When stitching pieces, pay attention to the notches - they must match!
- From main fabric:
- Upper back - 2 pieces
- Upper front – 1 piece on fold
- Lower back – 2 pieces
- Lower front – 1 piece on fold
- Neckline facing – 4 pieces
- Decollete facing – 2 pieces
- Upper peplum – 2 pieces
- Lower peplum – 2 pieces
- Front sleeve – 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing:
- Neckline facing – 2 pieces
- Decollete facing – 1 piece
Sewing Instructions
- Interface the pieces with fusible interfacing.
- Overlock the lower edge of the inner facing. Place the decollete facings right sides together and stitch the upper edge. Clip the allowances, turn right side out, and press. Attach the outer facing to the upper front, press the allowance towards the facing. Topstitch the allowance of the inner facing into the seam of the outer facing.
- Stitch the darts on the upper back. Press the dart folds towards the center. Attach the front sleeve to the upper back along the shoulder edge. Overlock the allowances and press them towards the back.
- Stitch the darts on the upper front. Trim the dart folds with an overlocker and press them towards the center.
- Fold the neckline facings in pairs, right sides together, and stitch the neckline edge, inserting the upper front. Clip the allowances, turn the facings out, and press.
- Attach the neckline facing to the front sleeve and back. Clip the allowance, overlock, and press away from the neckline.
- Cut a bias binding 4 cm wide and a length equal to the armhole length + 6 cm. Fold the bias binding in half lengthwise, right side out, and press. Place the binding with the armhole edge right sides together, extending the ends, and stitch. Fold the binding to the wrong side, clip the seams, and topstitch along the fold onto the main piece. Press the seam.
- Stitch the side edges of the upper parts. Overlock the allowances and press them towards the back.
- Overlock the lower edges of the peplums, fold inwards, and topstitch. Place the upper peplum on the lower one and secure along the upper and side edges.
- Stitch the side edges of the lower parts. Overlock the allowances and press them towards the back.
- On the lower front and back parts, slash the darts, stopping 3-4 cm from the apex. Stitch the darts, inserting the peplums. Overlock the dart edges, tapering off gradually.
- Stitch the upper and lower parts of the dress. Press the allowance upwards and overlock.
- Overlock the center back edges separately. Stitch the center back edge from the zipper mark to the slit mark. Press the allowances open. Stitch a reinforcing line along the slit 0.2 cm from the edge. Insert the zipper.
- Overlock the hem allowance, press inwards, and topstitch.
