Sew a Perfect, Autumn Satin Dress

BARR Couture
by BARR Couture
9 Materials
$20
4 Hours
Medium

For this DIY project, I wanted to work a little bit out of my comfort zone. I normally don’t work with satin but I decided to sew a beautiful autumn dress using satin even though it is a difficult fabric to work with. This flowing dress with a cinched waist has been the perfect addition to my autumn wardrobe.


Tools and materials:

  • Pencil
  • Pattern paper
  • Scissors
  • Pins
  • Needle and thread
  • Sewing machine
  • Serger
  • Satin fabric
  • Interfacing
Sew a satin dress

Adjust the pattern 

To create the pattern for this dress, I used a shirt pattern I already had. I carefully noted all the changes I needed to make and copied each piece including the changes. 

Trace the pattern

Cut the fabric

I traced each pattern piece onto my fabric and cut out all the pieces. 

Sew darts

Sew the bodice 

I wanted two darts on the front panels, so I started by pleating the darts and sewing them in place. 

Sew the front pieces

 I placed the front pieces, right sides facing and sewed leaving a 10 cm (4 inch) opening on the top. 

How to sew a satin dress


I cut off the excess fabric using my serger and then topstitched the upper opening in place. 

Pin the front and back


Next, I pinned the front and back pieces, right sides facing, and sewed. Once again, I cut the excess fabric using my serger. 

Add interfacing

Attach the collar 

I cut extra fabric to make the collar and added some light interfacing on the inner layer. I pinned the 2 layers and sewed them together. I then turned the collar right side out and ironed it carefully. 

Sew one side by machine


I sewed one side of my collar on with my machine and then hand sewed the other side in place. 

Gather the top of the sleeve

Attach the sleeves 

With my collar safely attached, I could start working on the sleeves. I started by gathering the top of the sleeves. 

DIY satin dress


I then pinned the sleeves onto the bodice and sewed them on. Once the sleeves were on, I cut the excess fabric using my serger. 

Sew the sleeves and sides


Next, I had to finish sewing the sleeves and the sides of the bodice. 

Add cuffs


For the wrists, I pinned two rectangles of fabric together. To attach them to the sleeves, I repeated the process I had done for the collar. I sewed on one side with the machine and the other by hand. 

Easy satin dress

Make the skirt 

I could finally move on to work on the skirt of the dress, The skirt would be made of two panels with gathering on the top. I cut out the panels and then started gathering. 

Sew the dress together


I went back to the machine and sewed all the pieces together and then I used my serger to cut off the excess fabric. 

Autumn satin dress


I love this perfect, flowing autumn dress! What color satin fabric would you use for this dress? Let me know in the comments! 

Suggested materials:
  • Pencil
  • Pattern paper
  • Scissors
See all materials

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