Sew a shift dress: the simplest dress that still fits

A shift dress is the simplest dress that still fits, because it has no waist seam: it hangs from the shoulders, takes its shape from two bust darts and widens a little toward the hem. You cut a front and a back, sew the darts, join the shoulders and sides, close the back with a zip or a keyhole, finish the neckline with a facing and hem it. Allow a weekend for a first one; a sleeveless version without pockets fits into an afternoon and an evening.

What do you need to sew a shift dress?

The pieces, for a dress with a back zip and in-seam pockets:

• Front, cut once on the fold.
• Back, cut in two halves with a center back seam for the zip, or once on the fold with a short seam at the top for a keyhole.
• Front and back neck facings, cut once each on the fold.
• Sleeves, cut twice, or 4 cm (1 5/8 in) wide bias strips to bind the armholes of a sleeveless dress.
• Pocket bags, cut four times, if you want pockets in the side seams.

The notions: a 55 cm (22 in) invisible zip, or one small button with a thread loop for the keyhole; 40 cm (16 in) of lightweight fusible interfacing for the facings; matching polyester thread; a universal 80/12 needle (70/10 for lawn, 90/14 for corduroy). Puff sleeves add about 60 cm (24 in) of 6 mm (1/4 in) elastic.

Fabric amounts on 140 cm (55 in) wide fabric, for a knee-length dress in a mid-range size:

Add 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 in) for sizes above EU 46 (US 14), for pockets, or for a one-way print that must run the same way on every piece.

Which fabric is best for a shift dress?

A woven fabric with some body: linen, cotton poplin, chambray, viscose twill, wool crepe or fine corduroy. Crisp fabrics hold the A-line shape away from the body; viscose twill and crepe fall closer to it and show the darts more. Skip knits: the dress relies on darts and a closed opening, and a jersey would sag at the neckline.

Pre-wash and press the fabric before cutting. Linen and viscose can lose 3 to 5 % in the first wash, which on a knee-length dress is the difference between the hem you planned and one that sits above the knee. Our post on sewing with linen covers washing, pressing and the needle to use.

How do you cut and mark a shift dress?

Fold the fabric selvage to selvage, right sides together, and place the center front and the facings on the fold. Check that every grainline runs parallel to the selvage before you pin or weight the pieces. Cut the notches outward, then mark the dart legs and the dart point with chalk or a tracing wheel, and the point where the zip ends on the center back seam. Transferring pattern markings shows three ways to do this on fabrics that resist chalk.

How do you sew a shift dress step by step?

1. Interface and staystitch. Fuse the interfacing to the facings. Sew a line 1.2 cm (1/2 in) from the raw neckline of the front and back, inside the 1.5 cm (5/8 in) seam allowance, so the curve cannot stretch while you handle it.
2. Sew the bust darts. Fold each dart right sides together, matching the legs, and sew from the wide end to the point, with the last three or four stitches running along the fold. Leave long thread tails and tie them off rather than backstitching at the point. Press the darts down, over a ham if you have one. If you chose a fitted cut, sew the waist darts the same way and press them toward the center. How to sew darts that lie flat covers the pressing in detail.
3. Close the center back. For a zip, sew the back seam from the hem up to the zip mark, press it open, then insert the invisible zip in the open part above it. For a keyhole, sew the seam from the hem up to the bottom of the keyhole and press it open; the facing will finish the opening.
4. Join the shoulders right sides together at 1.5 cm, press open and finish the allowances.
5. Attach the neck facing. Join the facing shoulder seams, finish the outer edge, and pin the facing to the neckline right sides together, with the facing ends folded back over the zip tape or around the keyhole. Sew, trim the allowance to 6 mm (1/4 in), clip the curve every 2 cm (3/4 in), understitch the facing to the allowance and press it to the inside. Tack it to the shoulder seams by hand.
6. Add the pockets. Sew a bag to the front and the back at the pocket notches on each side seam, at 1.2 cm, and press the bags away from the dress. Sewing in-seam pockets shows the pivot around the bag.
7. Sew the side seams from the armhole to the hem, going around the pocket bags. Press open and finish.
8. Set in the sleeves, or bind the armholes. With the side seams closed, sew the sleeve seam, run two rows of ease stitches on the cap and sew the sleeve in the round. For a sleeveless dress, sew the bias strip to the armhole, fold it to the inside and stitch it down.
9. Try the dress on, mark the hem and turn it up twice by 1.5 cm (5/8 in) for a 1.5 cm finished hem, or once by 2.5 cm (1 in) for a deeper one on a stable fabric.
10. Press every seam once more, lifting and lowering the iron rather than dragging it along the hem curve.

How do you check the fit before cutting the good fabric?

Sew a toile of the front and back in calico, without facings or sleeves, and put it on. The dart point should stop 2.5 cm (1 in) short of the fullest point of the bust; a dart that reaches the apex makes a cone. Look for pulling across the bust, a back neckline that stands away, and side seams that swing forward or back. On a dress drafted from your own measurements, the bust, waist and hip are already yours and the toile mostly confirms the dart position and the sleeve width.

What are the common mistakes with a shift dress?

• A stretched neckline. Skipping the staystitching, or stretching the facing as you sew it, leaves a neck that gapes. Staystitch first, and sew with the body on top so the feed dogs do not pull on the facing.
• Dimpled dart points. Backstitching at the point makes a bump that no amount of pressing removes. Tie the tails instead.
• A facing that rolls out. Understitch it and trim the allowance so it is narrower than the facing. How to keep a facing from rolling out has the full method.
• A wavy zip. Press the zip coils flat before sewing and keep the allowances unfinished until the zip is in.
• Hemming before trying on. The flare puts part of the side seam on the bias, so let the dress hang overnight and level the hem on the body.

Can you draft the shift dress to your own measurements?

Sewly drafts its shift dress pattern from a bodice block with your measurements, so the darts land at your bust and the hip is yours before any flare is added. You choose the fit, length, neckline, sleeves, opening and pockets; the pieces are redrawn instantly with 1.5 cm seam allowances included, and the sewing guide lists the pieces with cut counts, the zip length and the fabric quantity for 110, 140 and 150 cm wide fabric.