Shift Dress hacked from "Sewing Your Perfect Capsule Wardrobe" Book

In this post, I will walk you through how I made this version of a shift dress from the book "Sewing Your Perfect Capsule Wardrobe" #thehemlineeclectic #capsulewardrobebook #youcanhackit

The Book - Sewing your Perfect Capsule Wardrobe

I mentioned this book in my very first post. You can read about it here.

The book is filled with wardrobe staples and teaches you how to hack the patterns to make a full wardrobe.

This was my first sewing book and it was a very intense learning curve. In retrospect, I wish I had tried a few simple indie patterns before diving into this intense book. But, if you have the time, it is very educational. It lead me down many rabbit holes and introduced me to many new sewing techniques. I remember ignoring my family and sewing until 1am to finish my first toile for this shift dress.

I have made many patterns from this book. I will only talk about this version of the shift dress in this post.

This was literally the first time I learnt to sew invisible zippers, sew facings and also sew a completely enclosed facing. I was so happy with the final version of this dress, I have made many more since with different necklines and in different fabrics. #tntpattern

The Shift Dress Pattern - Hacked!

This book has 2 very beautiful shift dress patterns.

The first one is tapered knee length dress with darts, facings, invisible zipper, pockets and a 3/4 length sleeve.

The second is a sleeveless version with fully enclosed facings and no closures.

I tested both these versions and loved the sleeveless and no closure version on the bodice and also loved the tapered look for a work appropriate shift dress. I decided to hack the 2 different patterns to make this dress.

I had tested many other patterns in the book before and realized that a size 1 fit me perfectly on the shoulders and bust. I decided to cut out a straight size 1.

The book instructs you on how to draw your own facings for the sleeveless shift dress. I followed those instructions and changed the armhole and the neckline.

I also know that I can get in and out of my shift dress without using the zipper. So I decided to skip the zipper on this version.

The Fabric

This dress is made out of beautiful cotton ikat (pronounced eek-kath) I purchased online from iTokri. This indian online fabric store has a lovely collection of indian textiles, it is hard to say NO. They ship worldwide and I find their service exceptional. They also have a beautiful collection of ikats which are one of my favorite weaves.

I had a very small yardage of this fabric and so I decided to skip the pockets!! I do miss having pockets. :(

This dress can be made in any lightweight woven fabric. I have also made this in a jersey knit fabric with very few modifications and it worked out great. Give it a try! :)

Sewing the dress

Sewing this dress is very straightforward. If you have made one or 2 garments before, this will be a total breeze. Since I decided to not have any closures and pockets, it was a very quick sew.

If you are trying this book out for the first time and you have never sewn garments before, I would recommend that you slow down. The instructions in this book are succinct. And therefore, every sentence is important and may contain more than one instruction. So please slow down. Read all the instructions before you begin sewing. Do not skip steps. You will not regret it.

There is a section in this book about how to finish seams. At that time, I did not realize the importance of these different finishes. So please read through those as well.

I also highly recommend you download the free e-book by In the Folds called : The Little Book of Seams. This is an excellent book that talks about all the seam finishes you will ever need to learn. Also the In the Folds blog is exceptional as is Emily, the lady behind In the Folds.

Techniques you will learn

If you make this dress as the pattern was intended or not, you will learn to

1. Sew an invisible zipper

2. Sew a facing or sew an fully enclosed facing

3. Gather sleeves

4. Set in sleeves.

Styling

In this post, I have styled my shift dress with my brown strappy Cole Haan sandals.

Get Inspired

This book has many amazing basic patterns that can catapult your sewing knowledge and. techniques, if you are beginner. And for a more advanced sewist, you can see all the possibilities with these basics. I highly recommend trying out these patterns. I will post more of the makes from this book shortly. I leave you here with more photos to inspire you to sew the patterns in the book.

#thehemlineeclectic #slowsewing #indiepatterns #indiesewing #sewcialists #handmadewardrobe #handmadefashion