Square Neck Sheath Dress with Buttons
A sleeveless women's sheath dress above the knee, with a square neckline, princess seams front and back, a horizontal waist band set between the bodice and skirt, and a vent in the left front princess seam with three buttons above it.
When To Wear
- For the office in warm weather, or over a thin blouse or fine knit in cooler months.
- With a jacket for meetings and daytime events.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Close-fitting sheath shaped by princess seams from the armholes, front and back.
Length: Above the knee.
Neckline: Square, finished with interfaced facings that are attached to the zipper tape.
Sleeves: Sleeveless; armholes finished with a folded bias strip turned to the inside and topstitched.
Front: Upper front, waist band and lower front; on the left, the lower princess seam is topstitched and ends in a vent at the hem, with three buttons sewn along it.
Waist: A separate band at the waist, front and back, with seam allowances pressed onto the band.
Back: Upper back with darts, waist band, lower back, princess seams and a centre back seam with a concealed zipper.
Finishing: Vent area interfaced; 3 cm hem turned up and topstitched.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Matching princess seams across the waist band, a vent in a princess seam, a concealed zipper with a facing and bias-bound armholes.
Fabric Recommendations
Suiting fabrics in natural or blended fibres.
Additional Supplies
- Concealed zipper
- Fusible interfacing (neckline facings, vent)
- 3 buttons
- Bias binding for the armholes, 4 cm wide
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Upper back - 2 pieces
- Back insert - 2 pieces
- Lower back - 2 pieces
- Side back - 2 pieces
- Upper front - 1 piece
- Front insert - 1 piece
- Lower front - 1 piece
- Side front - 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
- Fuse interfacing to the neckline facing pieces.
- Stitch darts on the upper back, press allowances towards the center. Attach the back insert to the upper back, press allowances towards the insert and overlock. Attach the lower back to the insert, press allowances towards the insert and overlock.
- Stitch the princess seams on the upper back pieces, press allowances towards the center and overlock.
- Overlock the center back seam separately on each piece. Stitch the center back seam from the zipper mark to the bottom, press allowances open. Insert the zipper.
- Attach the front insert to the upper front, press allowances towards the insert and overlock. Attach the lower front to the insert, press allowances towards the insert and overlock.
- Fuse interfacing to the vent on the lower front and the left side front. Overlock the left princess seams of the front and the vent allowances separately. Stitch the left front princess seam from the armhole to the vent corner, press allowances towards the center and topstitch according to markings.
- On the right side front, trim the vent allowance. Stitch the right front princess seam, press allowances towards the center and overlock.
- Stitch side and shoulder seams, press allowances towards the back and overlock.
- Stitch shoulder seams of facings. Press allowances open and overlock. Overlock the outer edge of the facings. Place the garment and facing right sides together, aligning neckline edges. Fold back the facing 5 mm short of the concealed zipper edges and pin to the upper edge of the garment. On the right side of the garment, fold back the allowances along the zipper and pin to the neckline edge over the facing. Stitch the neckline edge. Clip curves, turn pieces right side out and press. Topstitch seam allowances to the facing. Attach the facing to the zipper tape.
- Cut a bias binding 4 cm wide and equal to the armhole length + 4 cm. Fold the bias binding in half lengthwise, right side out, and press. Place the binding with the armhole edge right sides together and stitch. Clip allowances, fold the binding to the wrong side 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 topstitch.
- Sew buttons according to markings.
