solar dress (free) pattern

During a recent little heat wave, the ease and functionality of the basic sundress - no ruffles, no layers, no sleeves - become rather urgent. Believe it or not, but there are very few 'plain' dresses around here. Smootch's taste tends to run towards drag queen and I try stay out of wardrobe decisions. The high temperature, though, wore Smootch down and a dress without any extras to trap heat and a wide enough base to get a little breeze going was requested.

Happy to oblige, little lady.

This dress is a simple as I could design, while keeping my mind on wear-ability beyond these few weeks of summer weather. I like a loosely fitting bodice area, with room to grow, and adjustable straps that allow for shirts underneath without getting all bunchy and awkward are nice too. A plain Jane front allows for pockets and embellishments to be added later to make something old seem new. A classic A-line shape works great as a pinafore over fall and winter tees and sweaters.




I'm feelin' pretty good about this one.


Which is why I thought I would make it available as a free pattern for y'all.


The Solar Dress comes in sizes 2/3, 4/5, and 6/7.  The sizes are approximated to the US standard sizes (such as you would buy in ready to wear).  To give you some idea, Smootch is a petite almost six year old, wears a US 5, and is wearing the Solar Dress size 4/5.  Of course, the dress is quite forgiving size-wise, being of simple design, so do not get too hung up on the exactness of it all.  (The designer certainly didn't :D)


To assemble the dress, in addition to light or medium weight fabric (try cotton or linen) and coordinating thread, you will also need some 1/4" elastic or clear elastic. 


Now before you go clicking the link to get the pattern pieces, I'm going to warn you that the file is rather large. Sorry. I got carried away when drawing out the pattern and coloured the whole thing in.


We got playing.



(Print in 'fast' and 'grayscale' when printing if you don't want to blow out your ink cartridge. If you guys have too many problems with the file, let me know and I will draw up a basic version, sans all the colours.)


Click here to download Solar Dress ePattern.

Print the Solar Dress pattern at a 1:1 scale (or 'no scaling') for correct size.

Assembling the Pattern Puzzle

The first thing to do is assemble the ePattern.

Cut out each piece from the file and assemble the pieces as roughly shown in the illustration on the right.

Align each piece flush as indicated by the lines and colours (it'll all look right as you put it together) and tape together.

The pocket piece is intended to be traced onto another piece of paper, using the drawn pocket as a guide for shape and placement.  You could actually cut it straight out the the assembled pattern, however, if you do not mind a big pocket shaped hole in the middle.

Cutting the fabric

To begin, determine your desired size and either trace onto a separate paper or cut along the appropriate line as indicated on the pattern piece.

To cut out the front of the dress, place the full pattern along fabric folded grain-wise, folded edge of fabric aligned with long side of pattern marked 'FOLD'.  Cut out piece.  (PATTERN INCLUDES SEAM ALLOWANCE - DO NOT ADD SEAM ALLOWANCE WHEN CUTTING OUT FRONT.)

To cut out the back of the dress, fold the paper pattern piece on the dark line running from arm base across chest.  The back shape is cut from this dark line and below (the top inch or two is eliminated). Folding saves your pattern, paper, and time, not having to cut out an entire new piece for the back along.  With the pattern folded, align in the same manner on folded fabric as you did on the front.  As you cut ADD ONE INCH OF ADDITIONAL MATERIAL ON THE TOP OF THE DRESS.  This is adding some fabric to put in the elastic back, not accounted for in the pattern.

Additional pieces of fabric needed are bias cut strips for the straps and ties.  If you would like to use store bought bias tape, that is excellent, use a double folded version, or you can make your own by cutting stripes of fabric 1 1/2" wide at a 45 degree angle from the fabric grain.  Use an iron to press a double fold into the strips and conceal the raw edges.  Do not sew the edges closed just yet.

The two straps made of bias tape need to be about 25" to 35" long, depending on your desire for short or long straps and size of dress.  For bottom loops to tie straps to, cut two additional pieces of double fold bias tape each about 2" long.

Cut out four pieces of pocket.


Assembling the dress

Start by finishing the top edge of the dress front with a double folded hem.



With your bias tape straps, fold one end of each strap to conceal raw edges. Open up bias tape and align the unfinished end with the arm curve on the front piece. With the tape still open, machine baste the raw edge of the bias tape to the edge of the arm curve (see this bias tape discussion for more information).



Fold closed the tape over the edge of the arm curve. Stitch close to the edge of the tape along the entire length, finishing the arm curve and closing the strap. Repeat for other strap.



(Okay, confession: I'm not actually using bias tape above because of the limitations of the fabric panel I chose. It looks not so smooth - your bias tape will look nicer, trust me.)

Sew a pocket by placing two pocket pieces right sides together and stitching together the curved sides, leaving the straight top open. Turn the pocket right side out, fold the raw edges in on the straight side, and press flat. Stitch the straight side closed. Stitch on the pocket, in the position indicated on the pattern paper, by stitching the curved sides to the dress close to the edge. Be sure to secure the top edges with a few extra stitches for extra strength where it is likely to be pulled on often. Repeat for other pocket.

The top of the back is finished with a piece of thin elastic sewn in. Cut a length of elastic 8" to 10" long (depending on size used). Whether using clear elastic or regular 1/4" elastic, stretch it out along the length of the top raw edge on the back and machine baste the elastic directly to the dress, stretching while sewing.




Fold down the elasticized edge into a double fold and stitched closed, again stretching while sewing (this can be tricky, I admit. Pins help :)



For the back loops, sew closed the 2" long strips of bias tape. Fold loops in half and stitch to elasticized hem, each approximately 3" from the side edge. Or whatever seems like a good distance.



With all straps and loops in place, and the top edges of the front and back pieces finished, you can now stitch the front to the back, right sides together, along the entire length of both sides (stitch from the top down) using a 3/8" seam allowance. I like to stitch the seam flat at the top edge under the arm to avoid irritating sticky-outty seams.

Finish the bottom hem and you've also finished the dress.  To do up the straps, run the ends of the straps through the loops and tie together in the middle. 



I realize my instructions here are not nearly as detailed as they usually are. I am a bit time poor this week and since we are running out of warm weather, I thought it best to just toss this out and see what happens. If you have questions or need clarification, comment or email me and I will add it to the instructions.

I hope you and your girl enjoy this dress and the lovely, sunny weather!

corset dress

This dress has a lined bodice and unlined, gathered skirt. The straps can be made from regular folded fabric, ribbon, or bias tape. Make sure if you are using ribbon that it is going to be sturdy enough to withstand some pulling (and washing). Strap length is going to vary according to size also, but I do suggest being generous, as you can always shorten, but lengthening will drive you mad.

The loops shown above are made with 1/2" bias tape, though ribbon and regular fabric work well also. Strips about 3" long work well here. The skirt is gathered all the way around, but only stretches across the back portion. It's not easy trying to get a preschooler to sit still long enough to tie on a corset-like shape, so it's elasticized waist makes it quick to get into at the very least.

The bodice is fitted by using the waist measurement and subtracting a few inches (don't forget about seam allowances). The top shape can be found by either tracing an existing garment, altering a pattern to the correct shape, or winging it (as I did). If you make your first cuts out of inexpensive fabric and then try it on the child before you sew, it's easy to make alterations until it fits just right. One part that you really want to pay attention to is making sure the shoulder area is just wide enough to fit the width of the strap you plan on using, plus your seam allowances.

When you have the desired shape, cut 1 of main fabric and 1 of a lining fabric. Align these two pieces, right sides together, and pin in place. Don't sew yet! You want to secure your loops between the main and lining fabrics.

Fold loops in half and align the raw edges with the edge of the bodice piece, like so:

Make sure you leave room on the top and bottom edges for your seam allowances and to do the waistline (about 3/4"). Reinforce the stitching over the loops.

Stitch the sides, arm curve and neckline. Do not stitch the top portion where the straps attach. That is what you are going to do next.

The straps, like the loops, are sandwiched between the lining and main bodice. To get them to the right place, bring them up through the bodice and pull just a bit of the ends out through the shoulder opening, like so:

Stitch the straps in place. Open up the bodice and make sure that the straps are not puckered, folded, or angled strangely, then reinforce the stitching.

Open bodice and press flat. Machine baste the bottom opening closed.

The width of the skirt from above is a few inches shy of twice my child's waist measurement. Length is up to you, whatever you desire. Don't forget to add your hem allowance and another 1/2" or 5/8" or so for the waist seam. Sew the skirt into a tube.

And the fun part: skirt gathering. No really, it is fun, because this dress uses clear elastic, which is so very friendly. You must use elastic (though you could get by with regular elastic, but I suggest no thicker than 1/2") because the back must stretch to actually get the child into the dress.

Cut the clear elastic to the same size as the child's waist (or 1/2" longer if using regular elastic). Divide the elastic into 4 equal portions (use pins to indicate the 1/4, 1/2, and 3/4 marks and then the ends will overlap when you sew). Also partition the dress in 4 equal parts (sides, middle, back - again, use pins). These pins are to be matched up so that the elastic is evenly distributed when you sew.

Start your sewing in your elastic flush with the raw edge of the top of the skirt at one of the pins in your bodice. Put a couple of stitches into secure elastic end and then stretch elastic so that the first pin meets the next pin on the garment. Stitch the elastic in all the way around the skirt, stretching the elastic to meet the next pin until it is all gathered.

Pin the front midpoint of the bodice's bottom to what you want to be the middle front of the gathered skirt (right sides together). From this midpoint, work your way along the bodice on either side, pinning the bodice to the skirt without stretching the elastic. Sew bodice to skirt.
To complete the waistline, you want to fold the edge of the skirt over, wrong sides together, to make a casing for the already stitched on elastic. It is really just a hem, but you have to stretch out the elastic as you sew. Use the part where the bodice seam ends as a guide to the fold over point and hem evenly along the back of the skirt.
All that's left is to hem the skirt and add any embellishments you desire.

Variation: to make a flat fronted dress or top (instead of a fully gathered skirt), cut two panels to form the skirt. One equal to half of the waist measurement and one 3/4 of or equal to the waist measurement. Sew these two panels into a tube. Use the clear elastic (measure to 1/2 of waist measurement) to gather just the longer panel, from side seam to side seam. Find the midpoint of the ungathered panel and pin to the midpoint of the bodice. Proceed as above.

Questions and comments welcome :)

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This is a free tutorial and I encourage you to use the information in any way you need to (check the disclaimer at the bottom of the page). If it works for you, please consider supporting my etsy shop by purchasing a Little Print Design pattern or toss a dollar or two in my paypal to show appreciation and to encourage me to offer up even more quality patterns and tutorials.

Thank you!
Questions about the Donation? FAQ here.

adult tee to child's dress recon

The pattern I use is a trace from an existing dress. I've been using this nice A-line pattern for most of my tee recons because the shape is so nice.

To make a sleeve pattern I traced the shape of the sleeve onto paper

and then added some seam allowances and extra at the top for a bit of puff (but not too much with the knit material b/c they end up looking like little football players)

so, the doomed tee,

fold in half and put the front pattern over it. For this one the design was too big for the chest area so I did a little patching. I just folded the front pattern piece on the waist line and cut out the design plus a bit of seam allowance on the side.

Then took the name off the sleeve and cut out a the bottom plus a bit for seam allowance.

and, here they are:

The back was just follow the pattern cut:

Sleeves were cut from the most horrible maternity shirt ever. If you are using stripes, watch which way you cut so they don't end up looking odd.

I also cut out the bottom ruffle. Mine is 3 inches.

So, all pieced together with the ruffle on

to make the lettuce edges I used a rolled hem stitch on the serger while stretching the fabric. The same effect can be made with a zigzag stitch on a regular machine (stitch off edge with a wide but tight zigzag).

My bottom ruffle didn't ruffle very good - probably because I had cut along the not very stretchy way of the knit (check it out, one way stretches more than the other and you want to cut crosswise along the stretch)

I decided the dress was missing something at this point so I cut up another tee I'd saved for recons and added a second ruffle (also roll hemmed one edge). I also cut some bias tape from the red tee for the neckline.This is me attaching the second ruffle.

There's lots of ways to do this, but I just stitched if right along above the first (right sides together) and then added a second line of stitching to lift the ruffle high enough for nice layered effect.

The sleeves went on the usual way. (okay, I'm getting lazy, but I can answer questions here if anyone has them)

For the back, I find a couple of rows of shirring gathers the dress into a nice shape. To do this, I chalked a line across the back to mark where I wanted to gather and shirred 3 short lines there.

(Shirring instructions here)

I also used 2 lines of shirring on the sleeves to gather them in

And, viola!

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This is a free tutorial and I encourage you to use the information in any way you need to (check the disclaimer at the bottom of the page). If it works for you, toss a dollar or two in my paypal to show appreciation and to encourage me to offer up even more quality patterns and tutorials.

Thank you!
Questions about the Donation? FAQ here.