Sleeveless Belted Pleated Neck Sheath Dress

Fabric & Materials

Fabric recommendations: thin dress fabrics made of natural or blended fibers. You will also need: a concealed zipper; fusible interfacing.

Cutter's Must

If the patterns have a double contour, they include seam allowances. If the contour is single, the patterns do not include seam allowances. Seam allowances: all seams 1 cm. Hem allowance – 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:
  • Upper back – 2 pieces
  • Lower back - 2 pieces
  • Lower front – 1 piece on fold
  • Upper front – 1 piece
  • 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

1. Fuse interfacing to facing pieces.
2. Stitch darts on back and front pieces, press allowances towards the center of the pieces.
3. Stitch upper and lower back parts, press allowances upwards and serge.
4. Serge 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.
5. On the upper front, create and secure the pleats: fold the left middle and side pleats wrong sides together, with outer edges directed towards the center. Fold the right middle and side pleats wrong sides together, with outer edges directed towards the center and overlapping the left pleats.
6. Stitch upper and lower front parts, press allowances upwards and serge.
7. Stitch side and shoulder seams, press allowances towards the back and serge.
8. Stitch shoulder seams of neckline facings, press allowances open. Serge the outer edge. Place facing and garment right sides together and stitch the neckline edge. Turn facing to the wrong side, straighten, press. Secure the facing to the main garment at the shoulder seams and center back seam.
9. Cut (if not ready-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 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.
10. Serge the bottom edge of the dress, press to the wrong side and topstitch.

Tip. Due to the overlapping of pleats, a significant thickness may form at the front neckline. Therefore, we can recommend finishing the garment's neckline not with a facing, but with bias binding. To do this, trim the allowance along the back and front necklines, cut a bias binding 4 cm wide and a length equal to the neckline length + 5 cm. Fold the bias binding in half lengthwise right side out and press. Unfold the binding, press the edges towards the marked center line. Bind the neckline with bias binding.