Embellished Halter Dress with Front Slit
A knee-length women's sheath dress with princess seams, a lined upper bodice in beaded or sequinned fabric with crossover sweetheart fronts, halter straps fastened with two buttons and rouleau loops, and a slit in the left front princess seam.
When To Wear
- Cocktail parties and evening events.
- Warm-weather celebrations: the shoulders and upper back are bare.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Close-fitting sheath, shaped by princess seams on the front and back.
Length: Around the knee.
Neckline: Sweetheart bustline formed by two upper front pieces, the right lapped over the left at the centre; the front neckline edge is lined and understitched.
Closure: Concealed zipper in the centre back seam; the halter straps close with two buttons on the right strap and two rouleau loops at the end of the left front strap.
Back: Upper back panel in the decorative fabric above a lower back with a centre seam and princess seams.
Skirt: Slit left open in the left front princess seam.
Finishing: Straps cut double and interfaced; hem overlocked and sewn by hand with blind stitches.
Lining: Upper bodice lined, with interfacing fused to the lining pieces.
Level Of Difficulty
Advanced. Sewing beaded or sequinned fabric (beads removed from the seam allowances), a lined bodice, narrow rouleau loops, doubled straps and a concealed zipper.
Fabric Recommendations
Light fabrics of natural and blended fibres, such as satin, for the dress, and decorative fabric with beads or sequins for the upper bodice. Remove the beads from the seam allowances before stitching, or sew those seams by hand with small backstitches.
Additional Supplies
- Decorative fabric with beads or sequins
- Lining fabric
- Fusible interfacing (upper bodice lining pieces, front and back straps)
- Zipper
- 2 buttons
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Middle Lower Back – 2 pieces
- Lower Side Back – 2 pieces
- Back Strap – 4 pieces
- Lower Side Front – 2 pieces
- Middle Lower Front – 1 piece (cut on fold)
- Front Strap – 4 pieces
- Bias Tape – 1 piece
- From decorative fabric:
- Upper Back – 2 pieces
- Side Upper Front – 2 pieces
- Middle Upper Front – 2 pieces
- From lining:
- Upper Back – 2 pieces
- Side Upper Front – 2 pieces
- Middle Upper Front – 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing: Upper Back, Side Upper Front and Middle Upper Front (lining pieces), Back Strap, Front Strap.
Sewing Instructions
- Fuse interfacing to the lining Upper Back, Side Upper Front and Middle Upper Front pieces, and to the Back Strap and Front Strap pieces.
- Stitch the princess seams on the upper front (Middle Upper Front to Side Upper Front). Stitch the Upper Back pieces to the upper front.
- Stitch the same seams in the lining. Place the lining and the main upper bodice right sides together and stitch along the front neckline edge. Fold the lining to the inside and understitch it to the seam allowance 1 mm from the seam. Press the neckline and baste the lining to the main piece along the raw edges.
- From the Bias Tape, make the narrowest possible rouleau. Cut it into 2 parts and shape each piece into a loop. Baste the loops to the end of the left Front Strap, with the tops of the loops lying on the strap and the ends of the loops on the seam allowance. The size of the loop depends on the button diameter.
- Stitch the Back Straps and Front Straps together in pairs. Place the outer straps on the top of the dress and stitch them along the center upper back and upper front up to the mark. Place the inner straps on the outer ones and stitch along the outer edge, the strap end and the other edge up to the mark. Trim the seam allowances, cut diagonally at the corners and clip the curves in several places perpendicular to the seam, stopping 1 mm short of it. Turn the straps right side out and baste. Turn under the remaining edge of the inner strap and topstitch from the right side in the attachment seam. Press the strap.
- Lap the right upper front over the left, matching the center lines, and baste along the lower edge.
- Stitch the center back seam of the Middle Lower Back pieces, leaving the zipper opening unstitched at the top. Stitch the princess seams of the back and front, leaving the slit open in the left front princess seam. Stitch the side seams.
- Stitch the lower part of the dress to the upper part.
- Press the zipper allowances to the wrong side. Insert the zipper so that the teeth are not visible, turning under the upper ends of the tape.
- Press the slit allowance to the wrong side. Overlock the hem allowance, press it to the wrong side and hem with blind stitches.
- Sew the buttons onto the right strap to correspond with the loops.
