How to Make a Quick & Easy DIY Summer Dress From Scratch
Here is a DIY summer dress that will keep you cool and comfortable all summer long. In this tutorial, I will show you how to make the summer dress pattern and then the simple steps to sew the summer dress itself. You may love this dress so much that you will want to make more than one!
Tools and materials:
- Cotton fabric
- Ruler
- Sewing pins
- Scissors
- Sewing thread
- Sewing machine with a buttonhole foot
1. Cut your DIY summer dress pattern
Fold your fabric in half twice, so you have four layers of fabric, with the folded size measuring 90 x 45 centimeters (35 x 17.7 inches).
From the double-folded corner, measure, and mark 10 centimeters (4 inches) down the short, folded side.
Then measure and mark 8 centimeters (3 inches) from the double-folded corner along the folded long edge.
Join those two marks with a curved line.
Draw and then cut another curved line along the bottom of the fabric as shown in the image above. Also, cut out the upper-corner curved line.
When you open the fabric, you can see that the small, curved cut-out is now the neck hole for your summer dress.
2. Hem the neck, bottom, and sides
Serge the raw edges
Then fold in and sew the neckline.
Double fold and sew the hem around all of the outer edges of the dress.
3. Create armholes for your summer dress
With the right side facing out, fold your summer dress in half widthwise. Mark and measure 28 centimeters (11 inches) out from the folded edge, from just below the neckline to the bottom of the dress and join the marks into one straight line.
Fold up the top layer of fabric on that line, and trace the line onto the next layer. Repeat on the third layer.
On the third layer of fabric, place a mark on the line, 25 centimeters (10 inches) down from the shoulder edge and 5 centimeters (2 inches) up from the bottom hem.
Pin the third and fourth layers of fabric together along the line between the top and bottom marks.
Repeat all of the lines, marks, and pin on the other side of the dress.
Sew along both of those lines just between the top and bottom marks.
4. Create belt holes
Create 5-centimeter (2-inch)-long buttonholes on the outside of each of those seams, 40 centimeters (16 inches) below the shoulder.
5. Create a waist belt
From your leftover fabric, sew a long tie for a waist belt and insert the belt through the buttonholes.
DIY summer dress tutorial
You can wear this simple DIY summer dress tied at the waist.
Or you can remove the tie and wear it loose and flowing. However you wear it, you’ll find it cool and comfortable for hot summer days. Try making this simple DIY summer dress for yourself and then leave a comment to let me know how it turned out.
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Really cute and looks soo comfortable!!!
you are a slenderer person than I am, how much would you adjust the fabric needed for a bigger sized wearer?