Maxi Shirt Dress
A versatile maxi shirt dress pattern featuring a classic shirt collar, a button-front placket, and a flowing a-line skirt with tailored pleats, cinched by a tie belt.
When To Wear
This maxi shirt dress is a stylish and adaptable choice for various occasions, including:
- Everyday Elegance: Perfect for a polished yet comfortable daily look, whether for errands or casual outings.
- Work & Professional Settings: Its structured collar and tailored silhouette make it suitable for a smart office or professional environment.
- Layering & Transitional Wear: Can be worn as a standalone dress or unbuttoned as a lightweight duster or cardigan over trousers and a top.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: a comfortable yet refined a-line silhouette, fitted through the bodice and flowing into a maxi-length pleated skirt.
Neckline & Collar: Features a classic shirt collar with a stand, offering a sharp and timeless neckline.
Closure: a full-length button-front placket with six buttons ensures easy wear and adjustability.
Sleeves: Three-quarter length sleeves are neatly finished with simple cuffs.
Back: The back features a center seam, a defined waist seam, and elegant pleats in the skirt section, complemented by an adjustable tie belt.
Waist: a defined waistline created by a horizontal seam and an integrated tie belt for adjustable shaping.
Length: a stylish maxi length, extending to the ankles for a sophisticated drape.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Requires familiarity with constructing shirt collars with stands, button plackets, setting in sleeves, and creating pleats.
Fabric Recommendations
Choose woven dress fabrics with good drape, made from natural or blended fibers:
- Dress fabrics made from natural or blended fibers
Additional Supplies
- Fusible interfacing
- 6 buttons
Cutter's Must
When stitching pieces, pay attention to the notches - they must match!
- From main fabric:
- Upper back piece – 2 pieces
- Lower back piece - 2 pieces
- Upper front piece - 2 pieces
- Lower front piece – 2 pieces
- Sleeve - 2 pieces
- Cuff - 2 pieces
- Collar – 2 pieces
- Collar stand – 2 pieces
- Placket – 4 pieces
- Belt – 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing:
- Collar - 1 piece
- Collar stand – 1 piece
- Cuff – 2 pieces
- Placket – 2 pieces
- Belt – 2 pieces
Sewing Instructions
- Interface the pieces with fusible interfacing.
- Fold the belt piece lengthwise with right sides together and stitch the long side and one short side. Trim seam allowances at corners, turn right side out, and press.
- Stitch darts on the upper back pieces. Stitch the center seam of the upper back piece, press allowances to the left and serge. Stitch the center seams of the lower back pieces, press allowances to the left and serge.
- Stitch darts on the upper front pieces, trim the depth with an overlock machine and press towards the center.
- Stitch the side and shoulder seams of the upper back and front pieces, inserting the belt pieces. Press allowances towards the back and serge.
- Attach the outer placket to the front piece, press allowances towards the placket.
- Fold the center edge of the lower front piece inwards twice by 1 cm and topstitch. Stitch the side seams of the lower back and front pieces, press allowances towards the back and serge.
- Form and secure the inverted pleats on the lower front and back pieces. Stitch the upper and lower front and back pieces together. Serge the allowance and press upwards. The placket extends half its width above the lower of the dress.
- Serge the inner edge of the placket. Place the inner placket onto the outer placket with right sides together and stitch the outer edge. Stitch the lower edge, leaving the lower of the dress between the placket pieces. Clip allowances, trim corners, turn plackets right side out and press. Topstitch the inner edge of the inner placket into the seam of the outer placket attachment. Topstitch along the plackets 0.2 – 0.5 cm from the edge.
- Place the collar pieces right sides together and stitch the ends and the outer edge. Trim allowances, turn the collar right side out, shape and press. Topstitch along the contour. Place the collar stand pieces right sides together and stitch, inserting the collar. Start and end the stitching exactly at the marked line for attaching the collar stand to the neckline. Trim allowances, turn the collar stand right side out and press.
- Attach the outer collar stand to the neckline, press allowances towards the collar stand. Fold the edge of the inner collar stand inwards and topstitch into the attachment seam.
- Stitch the sleeve seam. Serge the allowance and press towards the back. Set the sleeves into the armholes, press allowances and serge.
- Stitch the cuff into a loop. Fold the cuff lengthwise in half with right side out and press. Attach the outer side of the cuff to the sleeve, fold the allowance of the inner side of the cuff inwards and topstitch into the seam of the outer cuff attachment. Topstitch along the cuff 0.2 – 0.5 cm from the edge.
- Serge the bottom edge of the garment, press to the wrong side and topstitch.
- Make buttonholes and sew buttons onto the plackets.
