Cap Sleeve Peplum Pencil Dress
A knee-length women's pencil dress with a waist seam, a separate waistband insert, a self-faced peplum with angled points at the centre front, and short cap sleeves. Princess seams on the bodice, a concealed zip and a vent at the centre back.
When To Wear
- For the office and business meetings, with a jacket or cardigan in cooler weather.
- For daytime events and receptions in spring and summer.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted bodice and a narrow pencil skirt.
Length: Knee length.
Neckline: Wide rounded square neckline finished with interfaced facings.
Sleeves: Short cap sleeves set into the upper armhole; the lower armhole is bound with a 4 cm bias strip folded in half.
Front: Bodice with a centre panel and side panels joined by princess seams from the armhole; a band-shaped insert at the waist; a one-piece skirt front with darts.
Waist: Insert band between bodice and skirt, front and back. The peplum, cut double and folded along a marked line, is caught into the back skirt princess seams and runs round to the front, where its ends form overlapping angled points.
Back: Princess-seamed bodice with darts on the centre panels, centre back seam with a concealed zip, and a skirt with princess seams.
Skirt: Pencil skirt with a lapped vent at the centre back.
Finishing: Seams overlocked; hem finished with blind stitches.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Princess seams, a peplum inserted into seams, a lapped back vent, a concealed zip finished with facings, and partial armhole binding.
Fabric Recommendations
Dress fabrics from natural or blended fibres.
Additional Supplies
- Concealed zip
- Fusible interfacing (neckline facings, vent)
Cutter's Must
If the patterns have a double contour, seam allowances are included. If the contour is single, seam allowances are not included. Seam allowances: all seams 1 cm; vent allowance – 6 cm; hem allowance for dress and sleeve hem – 2.0 cm. Attention! First, print out the paper patterns and lay them out on the fabric width (fabric width can be from 90cm to 150cm) to determine how much material you will need (do not forget to account for paired and symmetrical pieces). When stitching pieces, pay attention to the notches - they must match!
- From main fabric:
- Central upper back - 2 pieces
- Side upper back - 2 pieces
- Back insert - 2 pieces
- Central lower back - 2 pieces
- Side lower back - 2 pieces
- Central upper front - 1 piece
- Side upper front - 2 pieces
- Front insert - 1 piece
- Lower front - 1 piece
- Peplum - 4 pieces
- Sleeve - 2 pieces
- Back neckline facing – 2 pieces
- Front neckline facing – 1 piece
- From fusible interfacing:
- Back neckline facing – 2 pieces
- Front neckline facing – 1 piece
Sewing Instructions
- Reinforce neckline facing pieces with fusible interfacing.
- Stitch darts on the lower front, press allowances towards the center. Stitch darts on the central upper back, press allowances towards the center.
- Stitch princess seams on the upper back and front pieces. Press allowances towards the center and overlock. Stitch side and shoulder seams of the upper, press allowances towards the back and overlock.
- Stitch side seams of back and front inserts, press allowances towards the back and overlock. Attach the insert to the upper, press allowances towards the insert and overlock.
- Fold peplum pieces right sides together and stitch the vertical short and lower edges. Turn the piece right side out, straighten, and press.
- Stitch princess seams of the lower back, inserting the peplum. Press allowances towards the center and overlock. Stitch side seams of the lower, press allowances towards the back and overlock. Fold the peplum along the marked line and secure it to the lower of the dress along the upper edge.
- Attach the insert to the lower front, press allowances towards the insert and overlock.
- On the left central lower back, trim 5 cm along the vertical edge of the vent. On both central lower back pieces, reinforce the vent from the wrong side. On the right side, mark the center seam line (vent fold line). Press the left along the vent fold line; on the right, press only the allowance of the right side of the vent (6 cm) to the wrong side. Align the pieces along the center seam and secure along the upper edge of the vent. Overlock the center back seam separately on each piece. Overlock the vent allowances. Stitch the center back seam from the zipper mark to the vent corner. Clip the corner of the vent seam allowance on the right. Press the center seam allowances open, press the vent allowances and secure them on the right side with machine stitching. Insert the zipper.
- Stitch shoulder seams of facings. Press allowances open and overlock. Overlock the outer edge of the facings. Place the dress with the facing right sides together, aligning neckline edges. Before reaching 5 mm from the edges of the concealed zipper, fold back the facing and pin it to the upper edge of the dress. On the right side of the dress, fold back the allowances along the zipper and pin them to the neckline edge over the facing. Stitch the neckline edge. Clip the seam at curves, turn pieces right side out and press. Topstitch seam allowances to the facing. Attach the facing to the zipper tape.
- Overlock the lower edge of the sleeve, press to the wrong side and topstitch. Set sleeves into armholes, matching notches. Clip allowances at marks, press and overlock.
- Cut a bias strip 4 cm wide and a length equal to the length of the lower armhole + 6 cm. Fold the bias strip in half lengthwise right side out and press. Place the bias strip with the armhole edge right sides together, extending the tails, and stitch. Fold the bias strip to the wrong side, clip seams and topstitch along the fold to the main piece. Press the seam.
- Overlock the hem allowance of the dress, press to the wrong side and hem with blind stitches.
