Sleeveless Princess Seam Midi Dress with Side Slit
A sleeveless women's midi dress shaped by armhole princess seams front and back, with a round neckline, a centre back zipper and a slit at the hem of the left side seam. Armholes are bound with bias strips.
When To Wear
- In summer, for the office or for daytime events, in silk crepe.
- In spring and autumn over a fine top or under a jacket or cardigan.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Close to the body through the bust and waist, then falling straight with a slight flare to the hem; no waist seam.
Length: Midi.
Neckline: High round neckline finished with interfaced front and back facings, understitched to the seam allowances.
Sleeves: Sleeveless; armholes slightly eased and bound with bias binding, about 1 cm wide when finished, topstitched close to the edge.
Front: Centre front panel cut on the fold and two side front panels.
Closure: 55 cm zipper in the centre back seam, basted so the teeth are hidden and stitched 0.5 cm from the edge.
Back: Centre back seam and princess seams from the armholes to the hem.
Skirt: Slit at the bottom of the left side seam, its edges turned and topstitched together with the hem.
Finishing: Seam allowances overlocked and pressed open; hem turned twice and topstitched.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Princess seams in fine silk, a centre back zipper, faced neckline and armholes bound with bias strips pressed over a template.
Fabric Recommendations
Light silk or blended fabrics, such as silk crepe.
Additional Supplies
- Fusible interfacing for the neckline facings
- 1 zipper, 55 cm long
- A strip of thin firm cardboard or stiff interfacing for the binding template
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Center Back – 2 pieces
- Side Back – 2 pieces
- Side Front – 2 pieces
- Center Front – 1 piece on fold
- Back Neckline Facing – 2 pieces
- Front Neckline Facing – 1 piece on fold
- Bias binding for the armholes – 2 strips
- From fusible interfacing: reinforce the Back Neckline Facings and Front Neckline Facing.
Sewing Instructions
- Reinforce neckline facings with fusible interfacing (Heat-activated interfacings are pressed onto the wrong side of the piece with a hot iron).
- Stitch the center back seam from the zipper mark to the bottom of the garment. Overlock and press open the seam allowances, press the edges of the zipper opening.
- Stitch the princess seams on the back and front, press open the seam allowances.
- Baste the zipper so that the teeth are not visible, and stitch at a distance of 0.5 cm.
- Stitch the side seams, leaving an opening at the bottom of the left side seam. Overlock and press open the seam allowances.
- Stitch the shoulder seams, overlock and press open the seam allowances.
- Turn the hem allowance of the dress and the seam allowances along the lower side opening to the wrong side, fold under and topstitch.
- Stitch the shoulder seams of the neckline facings. Place the Back Neckline Facings and Front Neckline Facing right sides together with the dress, pin and stitch to the neckline edge. Turn the facings up and topstitch onto the seam allowances close to the seam.
- Bind the armholes. Before pressing the bias binding for the armhole edges, make a template. To do this, cut a strip 2.2 cm wide (= double the width of the finished binding plus 2 mm) from thin, firm cardboard or stiff interfacing. Place the template on each bias binding on the wrong side along the longitudinal center line of the binding, turn the longitudinal edges of the binding over the template, press, remove the template. Then fold the binding almost in half lengthwise and press, so that the lower half of the binding is 2 mm wider than the upper half. Stitch the ends of the binding. Trim the seam allowances along the armhole edges. To ease the armhole, stitch a machine seam with a large stitch along the edge of each armhole (from the seams) at a distance of 0.75 cm. Slightly gather the fabric on the bobbin thread. Insert the edge of each armhole between both halves of the binding, aligning the edge with the fold of the binding, with the wider half of the binding lying on the wrong side of the dress. From the right side of the dress, topstitch the binding close to the edge, catching the lower half of the binding.
