The First Dress Pattern I Followed

How I Got Started With A Dress Pattern

After completing my first quilt, I got the bug and wanted to pursue sewing more. However, I was a bit daunted about following a dress pattern. I found an adult taster course for ten weeks at my local college. I wanted to know more, get myself on the right track, and not ground myself in bad habits. The first few weeks were an introduction to seams. Our tutor gave us an overview and worksheets to complete the following seams:

• Zigzag
• Clean/Turning
• Double Turn
• Run and Fell
• French

These are all ways to finish off clothing. For example, a French seam is for higher-end garments, and a Run and Fell seam is for jeans. After completing these, there was a small task to make a pin cushion, but having already made one at home, I skipped this step and went on to our pattern challenge. The next job was creating a pair of pyjama bottoms for us, a family member, or a friend.

As for the dress pattern, there were two to choose from; this depended on the fabric pattern, who they were for and how much time you had. The only stipulation was that the material had to be cotton or polycotton. Preferably a random pattern that didn’t need pattern matching and roughly two metres.

The Dress Patterns

The dress patterns used were a Simplicity easy-to-sew 8022a and a Burda; unfortunately, they are no longer in current catalogues but can be found on eBay. I have put what I think are the equivalents in the pictures below. You can find a good range of nightwear patterns in several places, such as Hobbycraft, Sew Essentials, Abakhan and Jaycotts. Alternatively, go straight to the pattern brands Simplicity or Burda.

In this instance, I opted for 8022a because I was using a patterned bedsheet that one grandmother bought back from Hong Kong, only to find that it had been manufactured here in Great Britain. She gave it to my other grandmother, who decided it could only be used for special occasions. Therefore, it never saw the light of day till we came to clear out the airing cupboard.

As you will see, it had a pretty border floral border along the bottom, and therefore, the Burda pattern wasn’t suitable as it required four leg pieces as opposed to two, and there wasn’t enough width on the sheet as it was a UK single.

Dress Making Tip

Never Cut Pattern Sheets, always use tracing paper to copy a pattern and plus you can make any changes regarding your measurements. This way you can use the pattern for someone else or sell it on.

The pattern was simple enough to follow, and I opted for an elastic waist instead of a drawstring. Plus, I put a few perpendicular stitches in the waistband to prevent the elastic from twisting or folding over. So what do you think?