Belted 3/4 Sleeve Shirt Dress
Introducing a women's sewing pattern for a chic shirt dress featuring a sophisticated notched collar with lapels, a flattering belted waist, and a gracefully pleated skirt.
When To Wear
This versatile shirt dress is a refined choice for various settings, perfect for:
- Daytime Chic: Ideal for office wear, business casual meetings, or elegant everyday style.
- Social Gatherings: Suitable for luncheons, garden parties, or smart casual events.
- Travel & Leisure: A comfortable yet polished option for exploring new places or weekend outings.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted bodice shaped with darts, joined at the waist seam to a flared, pleated skirt.
Neckline & Collar: A classic V-neckline framed by a sharp notched collar with lapels.
Closure: Full-length front button closure (buttonholes on the right front, buttons on the left).
Sleeves: Elegant 3/4 length sleeves finished with neat turn-up cuffs.
Waist: Defined waistline cinched with a separate fabric belt featuring a rectangular buckle.
Skirt: Graceful A-line skirt with pleats on the front and back, laid from the waist seam and turned away from the center.
Back: Clean back with a center back seam, darts on the bodice, and a waist seam.
Length: Sophisticated midi length, falling below the knee.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Involves techniques such as collar and lapel construction, faced front edges, turn-up cuffs, buttonholes, dart shaping, and precise pleat management.
Fabric Recommendations
For optimal drape and structure, we recommend dress fabrics with a moderate weight:
- Dress fabrics made from natural or blended fibers
Additional Supplies
- Fusible interfacing
- 8 buttons
- 1 buckle
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: hem allowance — 2.0 cm, other seams 1 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. When stitching pieces, pay attention to the notches - they must match!
- From main fabric:
- Upper Back – 2 pieces
- Lower Back – 2 pieces
- Upper Front – 2 pieces
- Lower Front – 2 pieces
- Sleeve – 2 pieces
- Cuff – 2 pieces
- Collar – 2 pieces
- Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Back Neckline Facing – 1 piece
- Waistband (belt) – 1 piece
- From fusible interfacing:
- Collar – 1 piece
- Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Back Neckline Facing – 1 piece
- Cuff – 2 pieces
- Waistband (belt) – 1 piece
Sewing Instructions
- Fuse interfacing to the designated pieces.
- Stitch the darts on the Upper Back pieces, press the dart intake towards the center. Stitch the center back seams of the Upper Back and Lower Back pieces, press allowances to the left and overlock.
- Fold and baste the pleats on the Lower Back (pleat folds directed away from the center). Join the Upper Back and Lower Back, press allowances upwards and overlock.
- Stitch the darts on the Upper Front pieces. Press the waist darts towards the center and the bust darts upwards. Fold and baste the pleats on the Lower Front (pleat folds directed away from the center). Join the Upper Front and Lower Front, press allowances upwards and overlock.
- Stitch side and shoulder seams, press allowances towards the back and overlock.
- Place the two Collar pieces right sides together and stitch along the ends and outer edge. Start and end stitching precisely at the marked collar attachment line. Trim allowances at corners, clip at the mark. Turn collar right side out, shape and press.
- Stitch and press open the shoulder seams joining the Back Neckline Facing and Center Front Facings. Overlock the outer edge.
- Place the Center Front Facing on the front, right sides together, pin and stitch along the front edge. Stitch upwards to the notch indicating the end of the collar attachment. Trim the seams at the corners. Understitch the front edge seam allowance 0.2 cm from the seam: below the lapel break – to the Center Front Facing, along the lapel – to the front. Turn front edges right side out, shape seams.
- Attach the lower collar to the dress neckline, and the upper collar to the neckline of the Back Neckline Facing and Center Front Facings. Clip collar attachment seam allowances, press open and secure close to the seams.
- Stitch the sleeve seam, press allowances towards the back and overlock. Set sleeves into armholes, matching notches. Press allowances and overlock.
- Fold the Cuff lengthwise in half, right sides together, and stitch the ends from the fold to the mark. Trim allowances at the corner, clip at the mark. Form the cuff into a loop and stitch the sections from the mark to the lower edge. Turn the cuff right side out, shape, press. Attach the cuff to the wrong side of the sleeve, matching the cuff seam with the mark on the sleeve, and stitch. Press allowances and overlock. Turn the cuff to the right side.
- Overlock the lower edge of the garment, press to the wrong side and topstitch.
- Make buttonholes on the right front and sew buttons on the left front.
- Fold the Waistband (belt) in half lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch along the long side and one short end. Turn right side out, shape and press. Overlock the open short end. Edgestitch around the perimeter 0.1 cm from the edge. Thread the buckle onto the overlocked end of the belt and secure it. Make the eyelet holes.
