How to Design Your Own Dress

Taking up sewing is a great hobby to have and one that can get you started in a new career, and a good way to get started is to design your own dress. You can save yourself some money while learning a new skill. When you learn how to design your own dress, you can start making dresses not just for you but also for your friends. You can begin to experiment and design dresses for casual occasions or for more formal ones like proms and weddings. Learning to design your own dress is not that difficult, and the following article will show you how.

Step 1 – Take Measurements

In order to design your own dress, you will need to know large you need to know the exact size it will need to be. To do this, you will need to take several measurements of your body. These measurements are as follows:

• Waist
• Shoulder to wrist (if long sleeves)
• Shoulder to middle of upper arm (if short sleeves)
• Hips
• Neck (unless you want an open neckline)
• Shoulder to hemline (the hemline is where you want the length of the dress to end)

With these measurements, you can make a template for the dress.

Step 2 – Determine Shape

On a piece of notebook, use a pencil and draw the shape of the dress. You will want to determine if there is a neckline or not, if you will have sleeves or spaghetti straps, and where the dress may taper or widen. You can also determine how the sleeves (if present on the dress) will be displayed. Once you are satisfied with the overall design, you can begin to add items to it, from draping fabric to jewels. You can also make notations on what kind of fabric you will use and if the dress will have different colored pieces for an intricate design.

Step 3 – Make the Template

Take a large sheet of paper and fold it in half. Use the measurements you wrote down and the design you drew as a means to create the dress shape on the paper. When you do this, be sure to add an extra inch to the measurements to account for seams. Once the template is made, you will then pin the sheet so it will not move, and then you will cut it out. If your dress is going to have multiple elements, colors, or different fabrics, then make note of these aspects on the paper. You will want to draw them and cut them out.

Step 4 – The Fabric

You need to cut out the fabric to complete the design of your own dress. Fold the fabric in half, place the paper template on top of it, and pin it in place. You can now cut it out. Repeat for all of the accent pieces.

Step 5 – Assembly

Fold the fabric together and stitch along the edge. Remove the excess fabric close to the seam.