Deep V-Neck Dress with Lace Insert and Button Front
A knee-length women's dress in soft silky fabric with a deep V-neckline, a wide waist insert cut from stretch lace and fastened with three buttons, gathered bodice and skirt, and long sleeves with deep cuffs.
When To Wear
- For dinners, celebrations and evening events, with heeled shoes.
- In spring and autumn, with a jacket or coat over it.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Soft bodice and skirt gathered into a fitted lace band at the waist.
Length: Knee length.
Neckline: Deep V, finished with a 4 cm bias binding folded in half and turned to the inside.
Front: Upper fronts with pleats at the shoulder edge and gathers along the lower edge between notches. The lower fronts are gathered into the insert and meet at centre front.
Waist: A wide stretch lace insert, cut in two halves at the front and one piece at the back. Each front half has a cut-on, interfaced facing.
Closure: Three buttons on the left front insert, with buttonholes on the right.
Sleeves: Long set-in sleeves, eased into the armhole, with deep cuffs folded in half. The cuff ends are stitched closed separately, leaving an opening at the sleeve seam.
Back: Upper back with a centre back seam and waist darts, a lace insert at the waist and a gathered lower back.
Finishing: Seams overlocked; 2.5 cm hem turned twice and topstitched.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Joining gathered silky fabric to stretch lace, a faced and interfaced buttoned insert, bias-bound V-neckline and set-in sleeves with cuffs.
Fabric Recommendations
Silky, softly draping fabrics in natural or blended fibres for the dress; stretch lace for the waist inserts.
Additional Supplies
- Stretch lace for the inserts
- 3 buttons
- Knit fusible interfacing
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Upper back – 2 pieces
- Lower back – 1 piece
- Upper front - 2 pieces
- Lower front - 2 pieces
- Sleeve - 2 pieces
- Cuff – 2 pieces
- From elastic lace:
- Back Insert – 1 piece
- Front Insert - 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing: one-piece facing for the front insert.
Sewing Instructions
- Fuse the one-piece facing of the front insert with fusible interfacing.
- Stitch the waist darts on the upper back. Press the waist darts towards the center of the pieces.
- Stitch the center back seam of the upper back. Press seam allowances to the left side and overlock.
- Attach the insert to the upper back, press seam allowances towards the insert and overlock.
- Along the upper edge of the lower back, sew a basting stitch with loosely tensioned stitches and gather the edge to the length of the lower edge of the insert. Attach the lower back to the insert, press seam allowances towards the insert and overlock.
- Create pleats on the upper edge of the upper front and secure them. Sew a basting stitch with loosely tensioned stitches along the lower edge of the upper front between the notches at a distance of 0.5 cm from the edge and gather. Attach the front insert to the upper front, aligning the notches, press seam allowances downwards and overlock.
- Attach the front to the back, press seam allowances towards the back and overlock.
- Cut a bias binding 4 cm wide and with a length equal to the neckline length of the front and back. Press the trim strip in half lengthwise, right side out. Fold the bias binding right sides together with the neckline seam allowance and stitch. Fold the trim strip to the wrong side. Topstitch the seam allowance onto the trim strip with a 0.1 cm wide seam.
- Along the upper edge of the lower front, sew a basting stitch with loosely tensioned stitches and gather the edge to the length of the lower edge of the insert. Attach the lower front to the insert, press seam allowances towards the insert and overlock.
- Overlock the inner edge of the one-piece facing, fold the facing along the notches to the right side and stitch the upper corner. Trim the seam allowance, turn the facing to the right side and press. Topstitch the upper edge of the facing into the seam of the trim attachment.
- Stitch the side seams. Press seam allowances towards the back and overlock.
- Stitch and overlock the sleeve seam.
- Fold the cuff in half lengthwise, right side in, and stitch the side seams, trim seam allowances at the corners and turn to the right side. Press the cuff. Attach the cuff to the bottom of the sleeve. Press seam allowances towards the sleeve and overlock.
- Set the sleeves into the armholes, easing the cap. Overlock the seam.
- Press the hem allowance of the garment to the wrong side, turn inwards and topstitch.
- On the right insert, make buttonholes; on the left, sew on buttons.
