Fitted Sleeved Dress With Flaps And Buttons
Introducing a sophisticated women's sewing pattern for a fitted dress, featuring a notched neckline, a buttoned front opening, decorative flaps at hip level and buttoned shoulder tabs on the sleeves.
When To Wear
This versatile dress pattern is perfect for creating a polished look suitable for a range of occasions:
- Business & Professional Settings: Ideal for office wear or formal meetings due to its tailored and refined appearance.
- Smart Casual Gatherings: Suitable for luncheons, brunches, or daytime events where a chic yet comfortable style is desired.
- Everyday Elegance: a stylish choice for those who appreciate sophisticated design in their daily wardrobe.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted sheath silhouette, shaped with princess seams on both the front and back for a flattering fit.
Neckline: a round neckline with a small notch at the center front, finished with facings.
Closure: a concealed zipper in the center back seam, plus a short buttoned opening at the center front (4 buttons) above the center front seam.
Sleeves: Short set-in sleeves with a pleat at the sleeve cap and a cut-on tab finished with a button at the shoulder.
Flaps: Two decorative buttoned flaps on the front at hip level.
Length: a modern, versatile length falling around the knee.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Requires skills in constructing princess seams, inserting a concealed zipper, facing a front opening, and assembling sleeves with cut-on tabs.
Fabric Recommendations
Choose dress-weight fabrics that hold shape well and offer good drape:
- Dress fabrics made from natural or blended fibers
Additional Supplies
- Concealed zipper
- Fusible interfacing
- 8 buttons
Cutter's Must
If the patterns have a double contour, seam allowances are included. If the contour is single, the patterns are without seam allowances. Seam allowances: all seams 1 cm; hem allowance for the dress – 2.0 cm; hem allowance for the sleeves – 1.2 cm. Attention! First, print out the paper patterns and lay them out on the fabric width (fabric width can be from 90 cm to 150 cm) to determine how much material you will need (do not forget to account for paired and symmetrical pieces).
- From main fabric:
- Center Back – 2 pieces
- Side Back – 2 pieces
- Center Front – 2 pieces
- Side Front – 2 pieces
- Sleeve – 2 pieces
- Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Back Neckline Facing – 2 pieces
- Flap – 4 pieces
- Sleeve Lining – 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing:
- Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Back Neckline Facing – 2 pieces
- Flap – 2 pieces
Sewing Instructions
When stitching the pieces, pay attention to the notches - they must match! Try to observe the grain line direction.
- Fuse interfacing to the Back Neckline Facing, Center Front Facing and the upper Flap pieces.
- Stitch the back princess seams (Center Back to Side Back). Overlock the seam allowances and press towards the center. Overlock the center back seam allowances separately. Stitch the center back seam from the zipper mark downwards. Press the seam allowances open, pressing the zipper opening allowances as well. Insert the concealed zipper.
- Stitch the front princess seams (Center Front to Side Front), overlock the seam allowances and press towards the center.
- Place the Flap pieces right sides together in pairs and stitch around. Trim the seam allowances, turn right side out, and press. Overlock the upper edge. Stitch the flap to the front.
- Stitch the side and shoulder seams, press the seam allowances towards the back and overlock.
- Stitch the shoulder seams of the Back Neckline Facing and Center Front Facing, press the seam allowances open. Overlock the outer edge. Place the facing on the dress right sides together, matching the neckline edges. Stitch along the neckline, the neckline notch and the front opening edges. End the stitching exactly at the center front seam line. Clip the seam allowances on the curves, notch at the corners, and trim the seam allowance at the neckline notch to 0.1–0.2 cm. Turn right side out, ease out the edges and press. Tack the facing to the shoulder seams and the zipper tape. Clip the upper corner of the vertical center front seam allowance. Stitch the center front seam below the opening. Overlock the seam allowance and press to the left.
- Stitch the Sleeve seam, press the seam allowances and overlock. Overlock the lower edge of the Sleeve Lining. Place the Sleeve Lining on the Sleeve right sides together and stitch around the cut-on tab. Start and end the stitching exactly at the sleeve cap stitching line. Trim the seam allowances, clip at the corners, turn right side out and press. Clip the sleeve seam allowances at the mark and fold the lining seam allowances inwards. Set the sleeves into the armholes, laying the pleat and matching the long notches with the shoulder seam. Turn the tab right side out through the opening. Press and overlock the seam allowances.
- Overlock the sleeve hem allowance, press to the wrong side, and topstitch. Overlock the dress hem allowance, press to the wrong side, and hem with blind stitches.
- Make buttonholes and sew on the buttons. Sew buttons onto the sleeve tabs and flaps.
