If you’re passionate about sewing and want to create a one-piece dress that fits you perfectly, then learning how to draw it sewing pattern is an essential skill.
Although it may seem intimidating at first, creating your own pattern allows you to tailor the dress to your own unique measurements and preferences, resulting in a garment that looks perfect and fits amazingly.
In this article, we’ll guide you through step-by-step process of drawing an one-piece dress pattern, from taking accurate measurements to all design procedure.
Tools you will need:
- 4 pieces rice papers 1×70.
- One meter ruler.
- Drawing pencils.
- Eraser (because we’re not perfect).
- Transparent tape.
- curvilinear ruler
- Triangle for right angles.
- Your basic skirt pattern.
- Your basic bodice pattern.
One-piece dress pattern – back part
- We join the rice papers together with transparent tape.
- We draw a vertical line on the left for the length of the dress.
- On the line we drew we place the basic blouse pattern touching the center back.
- We draw the outline, the shoulder and the waist darts (with faint lines), the back and the lines of the chest and the armpit (they will be very useful along the way). Set aside the basic top pattern.
- From the center back we draw a horizontal line that passes through the point of the side of the waist and beyond, to reach the center front.
- Now we place the basic skirt pattern (the back part), with the side point of the waist touching the line we drew for the waist. There will immediately be a gap in the center back between the bodice and the skirt.
- We draw the outline of the skirt without the darts. We also mark the hips and the high hips lines. We leave the basic pattern of the skirt aside.
- The side seam will taper a bit at the waist and this is due to the difference in the chest and hips curves. We draw the curve again from the waist, to just below the high hips line.
- To draw the dart of the dress we decrease by 0.5 cm. each side of the dart and we draw from the center (of the dart), a vertical line that reaches a little below the high hips line.
One-piece dress pattern – front part
- Place the front of the basic bodice pattern on the dress length line, parallel to the center back. (See drawing above). The points under the arm back and front should be aligned and the front side point of the waist should be on the waist line.
- We form the outline of the bodice pattern in this position.
- We mark with faint lines the darts of the shoulder and waist, the lines of the armpit and chest. We leave the basic bodice pattern aside.
- Now place the basic skirt pattern (the front part), underneath with the side waist point touching the waist line. Here there will be a smaller gap in the waistline in the center front, while the side will show a larger opening than in the back. (This is because the front of the chest protrudes more than the shoulder at the back).
- We redraw the curve so it matches the back side seam.
- With the darts we do exactly what we did at the back. We narrow 0.5 cm. and we reach a little below the high hips.
Drawing a sewing pattern for a one-piece dress may seem intimidating, but with practice, it can become a valuable skill that opens up a world of creative possibilities.
By customizing your pattern to fit your unique measurements and style preferences, you can create a garment that looks and feels like it was made just for you.
So, go ahead and give it a try!
With the step-by-step instructions we’ve provided, you’ll be able to create a beautiful dress that you’ll be proud to wear.
Happy sewing!
