Strapless Dress – No pattern required Copyright www.easydresspatterns.com • • • Note: best to use soft material such as viscose. 0.5 cm elastic band required. Fold material in half (right sides together) and mark blocks on it as indicated by diagram on next page. It caters for a short dress. You can make it longer by adding a frill as explained at the end. See next page for diagram. • Cut blocks, remember to pin the material before cutting to ensure no movement. • • • • • • Pin and stitch side seams of piece 1 and 3 (right sides together). 1.5 cm tolerances were included in the measurements for this. Pin side seams of 2 pieces of piece 2 together. Do the same with the other 2 pieces and stitch 1.5 cm seam. This will create 2 middle bands that will be used as a tunnel for the elastic around the waist. Iron seams open. Overlock all edges: side seams of piece 1-3 as well as top and bottom edges. Take one middle band and overlap with the inside of the other middle band. Be sure that right sides are facing each other. Start by pinning the overlapping side seams. Lay middle bands over piece 1 (the top piece) all along the circle. Be sure right sides are facing each other and that side seams overlap. See picture. • • Stitch all around (1.5 cm). Iron open seams. • Lay bottom skirt (piece 3) over the double layer middle band along the circle. Again make sure side seams overlap and right sides are together. Stitch all around but leave about 2.5 cm gap where elastic will be thread through. • Iron open seams. • Now create 2cm seam for top piece. Mark 2 cm from top and fold material back. Pin and stitch 1.5 cm from the edge. Do not completely close but leave 2 cm open to thread elastic through. • • • • • • • Now thread elastic through top seam as well as middle band tunnel. Pin elastic where you think is enough and fit dress in order to determine exact length of elastic required. Pin and stitch elastic ends together. Push back in tunnel and close the 2 cm gaps of the top seam and middle band. If you want a short dress you can stop here and just give the bottom skirt a hem seam. Else add a frill as follows. Cut a block as wide as bottom end of skirt plus an additional 20 cm. The length can be up to your preference, I used 20 cm. Create gathering by stitching 2 cm from the top along the length of this piece. Set stitch length to 4. Do not use back stitching at beginning or end as these stitches will be removed afterwards. Draw in thread to create ruffles. Draw in until the width of the frill matches the skirt end where it will be attached. Now pin this layer to the bottom skirt (right sides facing) and stitch at 1.5 cm. Remove the long stitches. Stitch hem seam.