Tools and materials:
- Fabric
- Chalk
- Measuring Tape
- Scissors
by The SILEM
Create a No-Sew DIY Handkerchief Dress in Just Under an Hour!
4 Materials
$30
90 Minutes
Easy
I’m loving the no-sew approach and while I have created many no-sew projects, this one is by far my favorite. In this tutorial, I am going to show you how to create a lovely handkerchief dress. It’s super simple with very few materials and tools required. You are going to be amazed by how this chic, backless handkerchief dress will turn out. So get your materials ready and let’s get started.
Handkerchief dress
Choose your fabric
Use any fabric of your choice but for this particular dress, I am using a lovely bright blue, thin scuba fabric. This fabric is amazing as it doesn’t fray, both sides of the fabric look the same, it’s soft, and light.
Easy handkerchief dress
Measure and mark your fabric
This is a crucial step, so take care when measuring. You don’t want too much fabric and you don’t want too little. Also, consider your height for this one. I measured the width and it was 63 inches, while the length was originally 40 inches, after I tried it on, it was too long, so I cut out 5 inches. Essentially, the choice is yours. After you’ve decided on your measurement, mark your fabric.
Basic handkerchief dress
Cut your fabric
It’s time to start cutting! Take your time with this one as you want to cut your fabric, width-wise and straight.
No-sew handkerchief dress
Mark the midpoint
Mark the center of your fabric by halving the total width. In my tutorial, the width of my fabric measured 63 inches, so my midpoint is 31.5 inches.
Casual handkerchief dress
Add more markings
From the midpoint marking on top of your fabric, measure 5 inches down and make another mark. Thereafter, measure 6 inches down from the second point, and make another mark. Between the 5 inch mark and the 6-inch mark, measure 3 inches and make a mark. So you have a dot between the two former marks. After marking 3 inches ( your middle marking) measure across, with 16 full inches, and mark each side; 0 and 16 while making sure that the 8-inch mark is on your third center point dot.
Halter handkerchief dress
Make an oval and cut it out
When these markings are done, create an oval-like shape between the first and third markings, leaving the dot in the middle. It will almost look like a football. Once your oval shape is established, make a tiny hole in the middle so that your scissors cut through. Cut along the oval line you've drawn so that you will be left with an oval hole in your fabric.
Backless handkerchief dress
Make a belt
Make a belt to go with your halter handkerchief dress. You can cut this out from your spare fabric. The length will be the width of your fabric, in my case, this was 63 Inches. And the width is 2 inches. Once you have marked the measurements on your belt, cut it carefully, making sure it’s a straight line.
TIP:
This step can be optional if you have a complementary high waisted belt in your wardrobe.
Arrange your handkerchief dress
Put the handkerchief dress together
Wearing a skin-tight bodysuit, take the dress and slip your arms through the oval hole. Then take the narrow, top part of the dress, put it over your head, so that it goes around your neck.
Overlap the dress
Overlap the two front pieces in front of your body and put your desired belt so that the whole dress sits in place, the way you like it. In the end, you will notice I did not use the belt I had cut out, I wanted to wear another belt to break the blue color. I kept the belt I cut aside for future use.
Tuck in the back
Arrange the back by tucking the fabric into your belt, giving a lovely open back design.
Fun handkerchief dress
Elegant handkerchief dress
So there you have it, you have just created a lovely, easy handkerchief dress that can be worn to a party, or even if you opt for a casual handkerchief dress look, that’s also fine. The choice is yours!
Your comment...
Join the conversation
Wowza! Seriously adorable and clever, and tutorial very well laid out and explained! Am headed over to your site!
Thank you so much 😊 Please consider subscribing to my channel 🤗
OMG!!! That's so so cool!! I want to give this a go!!! I'm gonna check out your other ideas!! Great job!!! TFS!!
Thank you so much. I would love to see yours when you try it. You can check my other no-sew tutorials on my channel. Here’s the link: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLm5C-CE8-w98_sp1wWO13QScZxp-bVgCj