Dropped Waist Dress
A short women's dress with a dropped waist set at the hip: the bodice is joined to a topstitched hip band carrying four pointed belt loops and a self-fabric tie belt, with a panelled lower part below it. It has a stand collar, a three-button half placket with a pointed end, a gathered chest patch pocket and short puffed sleeves.
When To Wear
- Summer days, with sandals or trainers.
- Over slim trousers or leggings in spring, worn as a tunic.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Straight bodice shaped with bust and waist darts, topstitched along the darts; dropped waist at hip level.
Length: Mid-thigh, hem turned twice by 1 cm and topstitched.
Collar: Stand collar open at the centre front, topstitched along the edges.
Closure: Half placket at the centre front ending in a point, with 3 buttons; the plackets are interfaced and edgestitched 0.1 cm along the long edges.
Sleeves: Short set-in sleeves gathered at the cap and at the lower edge, which is bound with a 3.8 cm strip; the finished lower edge equals the upper arm circumference plus 5 cm.
Pockets: One patch pocket on the left chest, gathered at the top and bottom, shaped over a pattern template and bound along the top edge.
Waist: Separate front and back hip bands between the bodice and the lower part. Four interfaced belt loops with pointed ends are caught into the upper seam, folded down with a little slack and stitched into the lower seam. The tie belt is double-topstitched 0.1 cm and 0.8 cm from the edge.
Skirt: Lower front and lower back each cut as a centre panel and two side panels, seams topstitched.
Finishing: Edgestitching 0.1 cm from the seams along the seams, belt loops and plackets, in thread matching the fabric.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. A half placket with a pointed end set into a clipped opening, a stand collar, bound sleeve hems and a bound gathered pocket, and edgestitching throughout.
Fabric Recommendations
Cotton blouse or dress fabrics with added elastane.
Additional Supplies
- Fusible interfacing (plackets, stand collar, belt loops)
- 3 buttons
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Lower Center Back – 1 piece
- Lower Side Back – 2 pieces
- Upper Back – 1 piece
- Back Waistband – 1 piece
- Lower Side Front – 2 pieces
- Lower Center Front – 1 piece
- Upper Front – 1 piece
- Front Waistband – 1 piece
- Stand Collar – 2 pieces
- Placket – 4 pieces
- Pocket – 1 piece
- Waistband (tie belt) – 1 piece
- Sleeve – 2 pieces
- Belt-Loop – 8 pieces
- Binding strips 3.8 cm wide for the pocket top and sleeve hems (cut to measure)
- From fusible interfacing:
- Placket – 2 pieces
- Stand Collar – 1 piece
- Belt-Loop – 4 pieces
- Pattern template (not cut from fabric):
- Pocket Control Block – used to shape the gathered pocket
Sewing Instructions
Attention: Topstitch 0.1 cm from the seam allowances along the seams and around the perimeter of the belt loops and plackets, using thread matching the main fabric.
- Fuse interfacing to the corresponding pieces.
- Place the Belt-Loop pieces together in pairs, right sides together, and stitch along the outer contour, leaving the upper edge free. Clip the seam allowances at the corners, turn the belt loops right side out. Straighten the seams and press. Topstitch.
- Cut a rectangle for the pocket binding, 3.8 cm wide and with a length equal to the upper edge of the Pocket Control Block. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, right side out, and press. Then unfold it and press the long edges towards the fold. Sew a line of long, loose stitches along the upper and lower edges of the Pocket and gather. Press the side and lower seam allowances of the Pocket to the wrong side. Adjust the Pocket to the shape of the Pocket Control Block. Bind the upper edge of the pocket.
- Mark and stitch the darts on the front and back pieces. Press the bust darts upwards, and the waist darts towards the center. Topstitch along the darts. Press. Stitch the Pocket to the Upper Front according to the markings.
- Fold the Placket pieces right sides together in pairs and stitch: the left placket along the inner edge to the corner, the right placket along the inner edge, simultaneously stitching the corner. On the right placket, clip the seam allowance at the edge of the corner stitching. Turn the pieces right side out and press. On the front, precisely clip the placket allowance at the corners according to the markings, stopping 1 mm before the seam line. Stitch the outer parts of the plackets to the front, aligning the notches. Turn the plackets right side out, straighten and press, pressing the seam towards the placket. Turn the seam allowance inwards from the wrong side of the plackets and baste. Turn the end of the left placket to the wrong side along with the triangle, leave the end of the right placket on the right side. Topstitch along the long edges of the placket, simultaneously stitching the inner edge. From the wrong side, secure the triangle with the end of the left placket. Topstitch the end of the right placket to the front.
- Stitch the Lower Side Front pieces to the Lower Center Front and the Lower Side Back pieces to the Lower Center Back. Press the seam allowances towards the center and serge. Topstitch. Stitch the lower parts to the Front Waistband and Back Waistband respectively. Press the seam allowances upwards, serge and topstitch. Attach the belt loops to the upper edge of the Back (Front) Waistband according to the markings. Stitch the Upper Back and Upper Front to the assembled lower parts, serge the seam and press downwards. Fold the belt loops upwards and topstitch along the waistband. Fold the belt loops downwards, creating a slight overhang, and stitch to the lower seam.
- Stitch the shoulder and side seams. Press the seams towards the back and serge.
- Place the Stand Collar pieces right sides together and stitch. Start and end the stitching precisely at the neckline seam line. Turn the stand right side out and press. Stitch the outer stand to the neckline, press the seam towards the stand. Turn the inner edge under and topstitch it over the neckline seam. Topstitch the stand along the edges.
- Along the sleeve cap and lower edge, stitch with loosely tensioned stitches and gather. The finished length of the lower sleeve edge is equal to the arm circumference + 5 cm (remember to account for seam allowances). Cut a rectangle for binding the lower sleeve edge, 3.8 cm wide and with a length equal to the length of the lower sleeve edge. Fold the piece in half lengthwise, right side out, and press. Then unfold the piece and press the longitudinal edges towards the fold. Bind the lower sleeve edge. Press. Stitch the sleeve seam. Serge the seam and press. Set the sleeves into the armholes, aligning the notches. Serge the seam and press towards the sleeve.
- Turn the hem of the dress twice by 1 cm and topstitch.
- Make the buttonholes on the placket and sew on the buttons.
- Fold the tie belt (Waistband) in half lengthwise, right sides together. Stitch it on three sides, leaving a small opening for turning. Turn the belt right side out and press. Topstitch a double decorative stitch along the contour of the belt at 0.1 and 0.8 cm from the edge.
