Sheath Dress with Wing Sleeves and Peplum
A fully lined women's sheath dress with short wing sleeves set into the armholes, a waist inset band, panel seams above and below it, and a hemmed trim piece over each hip caught into the front and back panel seams. All panel and inset seams are topstitched 0.5 cm from the seam.
When To Wear
- At the office and business meetings in spring and autumn.
- For daytime events and dinners, with court shoes.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted sheath divided by a waist inset into an upper part and a lower part, both shaped by panel seams front and back.
Length: Around the knee.
Neckline: Round, faced with the lining.
Sleeves: Wing sleeves: short pieces with faced short edges, set into the open armholes between the notches; the rest of the armhole is faced with the lining.
Waist: Inset band (one front, two back pieces) joined at the sides, with topstitched seams above and below.
Skirt: Lower part with centre and side panels front and back. On each side a trim piece with a hemmed lower edge lies over the hip and is caught into the front and back panel seams, forming a short peplum at the sides.
Back: Upper back with panel seams; centre back seam with an invisible zip from the neckline to the notch; interfaced vents at the hem of the lower back panel seams.
Finishing: Panel and inset seams topstitched 0.5 cm from the seam. 3 cm hem allowance, turned under 1 cm and topstitched.
Lining: Full lining cut from the dress pieces, stitched to the neckline and armholes and slipstitched to the zip tape; the lining is cut open at the vents and its hem turned under twice and topstitched.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Vents in panel seams, set-in wing sleeves, trim pieces caught into seams, an invisible zip and a full lining, with even topstitching throughout.
Fabric Recommendations
Lightweight suiting fabrics of natural or mixed fibres.
Additional Supplies
- Lining fabric
- Invisible zip
- Fusible interfacing (vents)
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Center Upper Back – 2 pieces
- Side Upper Back – 2 pieces
- Back Inset – 2 pieces
- Center Lower Back – 2 pieces
- Lower Side Back – 2 pieces
- Side Upper Front – 2 pieces
- Center Upper Front – 1 piece
- Front Inset – 1 piece
- Side Lower Front – 2 pieces
- Center Lower Front Part – 1 piece
- Trimming – 2 pieces
- Wing Sleeve – 2 pieces
- From lining fabric (cut using the main fabric pieces):
- Center Upper Back – 2 pieces
- Side Upper Back – 2 pieces
- Back Inset – 2 pieces
- Center Lower Back – 2 pieces
- Lower Side Back – 2 pieces
- Side Upper Front – 2 pieces
- Center Upper Front – 1 piece
- Front Inset – 1 piece
- Side Lower Front – 2 pieces
- Center Lower Front Part – 1 piece
Sewing Instructions
- Stitch the princess seams joining the Center Upper Front to the Side Upper Front and the Center Upper Back to the Side Upper Back; press the seam allowances towards the center and topstitch 0.5 cm from the seam.
- Stitch the shoulder seams, press the seam allowances open.
- Face the short sides of the Wing Sleeves, turn right side out, press. Set the Wing Sleeves into the open armholes according to the notches.
- Stitch the side seams of the upper parts, press the seam allowances open.
- Stitch the side seams of the Front Inset and Back Insets, press the seam allowances open. Attach the inset to the upper part of the dress, press the seam allowances towards the inset and topstitch 0.5 cm from the seam.
- Stitch the side seams of the lower parts, press the seam allowances towards the back and serge.
- Serge the bottom edge of each Trimming piece, fold it to the wrong side and topstitch.
- On the Lower Side Back and Center Lower Back pieces, apply fusible interfacing to the vent from the wrong side. Serge the back panel seams separately on each piece, serging the vent at the same time. Mark the vent fold line on the right side. On the Center Lower Back, press the vent along the fold line; on the Lower Side Back, press the vent allowance to the wrong side and topstitch only the vent allowance (1 cm). Stitch the back panel seam from the upper edge to the top of the vent, catching the Trimming in the seam. Press the seam allowances towards the center and topstitch 0.5 cm from the seam; secure the vent allowances at their upper edge with machine stitching.
- Stitch the front panel seams (Center Lower Front Part to Side Lower Front), catching the Trimming in the seam. Press the seam allowances towards the center, serge and topstitch 0.5 cm from the seam.
- Attach the lower part of the dress to the inset, press the seam allowances towards the inset and topstitch 0.5 cm from the seam.
- Serge the center back edges. Insert the invisible zipper from the upper edge down to the notch. Fold the lower end of the zipper aside and stitch the center back seam from the notch downwards. Press the seam allowances open.
- Sew the lining pieces together in the same way as the main fabric pieces. At the vent, trim the lining seam allowance to the seam width and finish the opening. Place the lining and the dress right sides together and stitch around the neckline and armhole edges. Press the seam allowances and clip them on the curves. Turn the dress right side out, baste along the edges and press. Fold under the center back seam allowances of the lining and secure them to the zipper tape. Turn the lining hem to the wrong side twice and topstitch.
- Press the bottom edge of the dress to the wrong side by the hem allowance width, turn the raw edge under 1 cm and topstitch.
