Ruffled Shoulder Sheath Dress
A sleeveless, knee-length women's sheath dress with a stand collar split at the centre front over a V slit, flounces set into the vertical seams of the upper front and back to form ruffles over the shoulders, and a V-shaped middle front band. Centre back invisible zipper and lapped vent.
When To Wear
- To the office with a cardigan or a short jacket.
- To daytime events and dinners in spring and summer.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted sheath with darts in the lower front, lower back and upper front.
Length: About knee length.
Collar: Stand collar in two layers, interfaced, open at the centre front above a V slit; the slit is finished with a front neckline facing.
Sleeves: Sleeveless. A front and a back flounce are set into the seams between the centre and side upper pieces, the front flounce over the back one; outer edges finished with a narrow rolled hem. Armholes bound with self-fabric bias binding cut 4 cm wide and folded in half.
Front: Upper front with a centre seam and a slit at the neckline; a V-shaped middle front band joins it to the lower front.
Back: Horizontal seam between the upper and lower back; centre back seam with an invisible zipper whose upper end is enclosed in the stand collar; a lapped vent at the hem.
Finishing: Bar tacks at the side seams at armhole level; 2 cm hem allowance, blind-stitched.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Flounces inserted into seams, a faced neckline slit, a two-layer stand collar with the zipper enclosed in it, a lapped vent and bias-bound armholes.
Fabric Recommendations
Dress fabrics from natural or blended fibres with added elastane.
Additional Supplies
- Invisible zipper
- Fusible interfacing (stand collar, front neckline facing, vent area)
- Bias binding 4 cm wide, the length of the armhole plus 5 cm (or cut from the main fabric)
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Center Upper Back – 2 pieces
- Side Upper Back – 2 pieces
- Lower Back – 2 pieces
- Center Upper Front – 2 pieces
- Side Upper Front – 2 pieces
- Middle Front – 1 piece
- Lower Front – 1 piece
- Stand Collar – 4 pieces
- Front Neckline Facing – 2 pieces
- Front Flounce – 2 pieces
- Back Flounce – 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing:
- Stand Collar – 2 pieces
- Front Neckline Facing – 2 pieces
Sewing Instructions
- Fuse fusible interfacing to the designated pieces.
- Stitch the darts on the Lower Back, Lower Front and Center Upper Front pieces. Press the darts towards the center.
- Stitch the shoulder seams of the Center Upper Back and Center Upper Front, press seam allowances towards the back and serge. Stitch the shoulder seams of the Side Upper Back and Side Upper Front, press seam allowances towards the back and serge.
- Finish the outer edges of the Front Flounce and Back Flounce with a narrow rolled hem on the serger. Stitch the center and side upper pieces of the back and front together, inserting the flounces between them (the front flounce is placed over the back one). Press seam allowances towards the center, serge.
- Stitch the center seam of the Center Upper Front, press seam allowances open. Stitch the center seam of the Front Neckline Facing, press seam allowances open. Serge the outer edge of the facing. Place the facing on the dress, right sides together, and stitch the neckline slit. Turn the facing to the wrong side, straighten, and press. Baste the neckline edge of the facing to the neckline edge of the dress.
- On the inner Stand Collar, press under and topstitch the seam allowance from the center edge to the shoulder seam notch. Place the stand collar pieces right sides together and stitch the outer edge. Begin and end the stitching at the marked line of the collar stand attachment seam to the neckline. Clip seam allowances at curves, turn the stand collar right side out and press. Stitch the outer stand collar to the neckline.
- Stitch the upper back to the Lower Back, press seam allowances downwards and serge.
- On the left back piece, cut 5 cm along the vertical slit edge. On both back pieces, fuse the slit from the wrong side. On the right side, mark the center seam line (the slit fold line). Press the left piece along the slit fold line; on the right piece, press only the seam 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. Serge the center seam of the back separately on each piece. Serge the slit seam allowances. Stitch the center back seam from the zipper mark to the slit corner. Clip the seam allowance at the slit corner on the right piece. Press the center back seam allowances open, press the slit seam allowances and secure them on the right side with machine stitching.
- Insert the zipper, enclosing its upper end between the stand collar layers. Turn the stand collar right side out and straighten. Fold under the edge of the inner stand collar along the unfinished section and topstitch it over the attachment seam.
- Stitch the Middle Front to the upper front, press seam allowances towards the Middle Front and serge. Stitch the Lower Front to the Middle Front, press seam allowances downwards and serge.
- Cut (if not pre-made) a bias binding 4 cm wide and a length equal to the armhole length + 5 cm. Fold the bias binding in half lengthwise, right side out, and press. Place the binding on the right side of the armhole, raw edges aligned, and stitch. Clip seam allowances. Fold the binding to the wrong side and topstitch along the fold to the main piece. Press the seam.
- Stitch the side seams, press seam allowances towards the back and serge. Place bar tacks at the side seam at the armhole level.
- Serge the hem allowance of the dress, press to the wrong side and hem with blind stitches.
