Curvy Drape Dress – FREE SEWING PATTERN with instructions

The Curvy Drape Dress is probably my favourite pattern yet! It is loose fitting but sophisticated and super comfy (yes, it even has an elasticated waist). The FREE PATTERN is right here.

I love this dress because:

• It looks like one of those tricky Drape Drape dresses but it is actually easy to make
• There are only 2 pieces of fabric to sew together
• It only takes 1.5 metres of fabric
• It’s really flattering – I love the way it gives you an instant hour glass figure
• It works for any season.

Its simple construction means that it is really easy to resize. Have a look at the Making a pattern fit page for how to do this. All the measurements you will need are there (for the UK or the US).

If you need to increase or decrease the size of the skirt then do it as shown below, on the fold. You will want to move the darts a bit too if you are shifting the size significantly. If you are going bigger then move in the direction of the orange arrows and if you are going smaller then move in the direction of the blue arrows.

I have used a really beautiful viscose from the Free Spirit range of fabrics. It drapes beautifully and has a very slight sheen. You only need 1.5m so it doesn’t work out costing the earth.

I wouldn’t recommend 100% cotton for this dress. Your fabric really needs to drape for it to work. The viscose works really well but a lightweight jersey would also look lovely and fall in the same way. The pattern fits really nicely onto standard width fabric so there is very little waste.

As I am drafting a dress I often have to make it several times to get it right. I thought I would show you my second from last mock-up too. The dress looks great in the vibrant colours. I have used the stripe across the bust and it kind of sweeps round on the skirt – you can just see the edge of it. Unfortunately I couldn’t use this version in the end. The fabric was just wasn’t right. It it a stretch synthetic but it is really quite thick, more like scuba fabric than traditional jersey. You can probably see that it looks a bit bulky round the hips. So, choose your fabric carefully.

Here are some directions for putting it together:

Cut the neckline into the folded BACK & FRONT BODICE. (You don’t have to use a folded piece on the bodice if you haven’t got enough fabric – you can just put a seam across the shoulders and it will look fine.)

With right sides together, sew from the pink dot downwards on either side to create the armholes.

On the waist of the SKIRT, sew in the 4 marked darts. For each one, fold down the dotted line, line up the 2 solid blue lines and sew down the full length of the lines to create a tuck.

Hem your SKIRT along the bottom edge with a small roll hem. (You need to do this before you attach the skirt).

Pin, then stitch, the SKIRT to the BODICE with right sides together, aligning the green dot to be the centre back of the dress. You will have to ease the curve of the SKIRT along the straight bottom of the BODICE. This creates the beautiful drape. The final 18 – 20cm of the SKIRT at either end will overlap. This is the front of the dress.

Loosely gather the waist of the dress until it fits the elastic. Attach the elastic to the inside of the dress with a zigzag or stretch stitch to allow for stretch. When you have done this, snip through your original gathering thread in a few places. It is no longer needed and will just break as you stretch the elastic.

Finally, hem the sleeve holes with a roll hem.