Shirt Dress with Rolled Sleeves and Drawstring Waist
A women's midi shirt dress with a collar on a stand, a buttoned bodice with a cut-on facing, a waist casing with a decorative cord, front hip pockets and short sleeves with cuffs and button tabs for rolling them up.
When To Wear
- In summer for daytime and travel, with sandals or flat shoes.
- In spring and autumn with a cardigan or a denim jacket.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Bodice gathered by the drawstring at the waist, skirt widening towards the hem.
Length: Midi, below the knee.
Collar: Shirt collar on a stand, topstitched along the edge; the stand buttons.
Front: Buttoned from the neck to the waist, with bust darts and a cut-on interfaced facing; the right front laps over the left. The skirt has a closed centre front seam.
Sleeves: Short set-in sleeves with a slit and a buttoned cuff; a tab stitched to the inside of each sleeve buttons onto the sleeve to hold it rolled up.
Pockets: Two front hip pockets with a curved opening, faced with the pocket bag and backed by the front side piece.
Back: Centre back seams in both the bodice and the skirt.
Waist: A waistband is inserted into the waist seam and topstitched along its upper fold to form a casing; the decorative cord comes out through buttonholes at the centre front and ties in a bow.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. A collar on a stand, a cut-on facing with buttonholes, front hip pockets, a drawstring casing, sleeve tabs and cuffs.
Fabric Recommendations
Dress fabrics of natural or blended fibres.
Additional Supplies
- Fusible interfacing (collar, collar stand, cuffs, front facing, pocket openings)
- 9 buttons
- Decorative cord
Cutter's Must
When stitching pieces, pay attention to the notches - they must match!
- From main fabric:
- Upper Back – 2 pieces
- Lower Back – 2 pieces
- Upper Front – 2 pieces
- Lower Front – 2 pieces
- Sleeve – 2 pieces
- Cuff – 2 pieces
- Sleeve Decorative Tab – 2 pieces
- Collar – 2 pieces
- Stand Collar – 2 pieces
- Front Side – 2 pieces
- Pocket Bag – 2 pieces
- Back Waistband – 1 piece
- Front Waistband – 1 piece
- From fusible interfacing:
- Collar – 1 piece
- Stand Collar – 1 piece
- Cuff – 2 pieces
Sewing Instructions
- Fuse interfacing to the Collar, Stand Collar and Cuff. Also fuse the cut-on facing of the Upper Front.
- Stitch the center seam of the Upper Back, press seam allowances to the left and serge. Stitch the center seams of the Lower Back and Lower Front, press seam allowances to the left and serge.
- Stitch the bust darts on the Upper Front pieces, press the darts upwards.
- Serge the edge of the cut-on facing of the Upper Front. Press the facing to the wrong side, secure it to the main piece along the upper and lower edges. Make buttonholes on the right front. Overlap the right front over the left and baste along the lower edge.
- Stitch the side and shoulder seams of the Upper Back and Upper Front, press seam allowances towards the back and serge.
- Place the Collar pieces right sides together and stitch the ends and outer edge. Trim seam allowances, turn the collar right side out, shape and press. Topstitch along the contour. Place the Stand Collar pieces right sides together and stitch, inserting the Collar. Start and end the stitching exactly at the marked neckline seam line. Trim seam allowances, turn the Stand Collar right side out and press.
- Stitch the outer Stand Collar to the neckline, press seam allowances towards the Stand Collar. Fold under the edge of the inner Stand Collar and topstitch into the attachment seam.
- Fuse interfacing to the pocket opening on the Lower Front. Place the Pocket Bag on the Lower Front right sides together and stitch around the pocket opening. Clip seam allowances. Turn the Pocket Bag to the wrong side, press. Place the Lower Front over the Front Side and stitch the pocket bag edges together, serge seam allowances. Baste the pieces together along the side and upper edges.
- Stitch the side seams of the Lower Back and Lower Front, press seam allowances towards the back and serge.
- Stitch the side seams of the Back Waistband and Front Waistband, press seam allowances open. Press the upper edge to the wrong side. Make buttonholes according to the markings. Stitch the bodice to the skirt, inserting the lower edge of the waistband into the seam, press seam allowances upwards and serge. Topstitch the waistband to the dress along the upper fold, forming a casing.
- Fold the Sleeve Decorative Tabs lengthwise in half right sides together and stitch along the long and short edges. Turn right side out, trimming seam allowances at the corners, shape and press. Serge the open short edge. Topstitch the tabs onto the wrong side of the sleeves according to the markings.
- Serge the sleeve edges separately. Stitch the sleeve seam from the armhole to the mark, press seam allowances open. Stitch a reinforcing line along the slit 0.1 cm from the edge. Set the sleeves into the armholes, press seam allowances and serge.
- Fold the Cuff lengthwise in half right sides together and stitch the short ends. Turn the piece right side out, press. Stitch the outer layer of the Cuff to the sleeve, fold under the seam allowance of the inner layer and topstitch it into the attachment seam.
- Serge the hem of the garment, press to the wrong side and topstitch.
- Sew buttons onto the left Upper Front. Make buttonholes and sew buttons on the Stand Collar and Cuffs. Make buttonholes on the tabs, sew buttons onto the sleeves.
- Thread the decorative cord through the casing.
