Striped Maxi Dress

I have been dying to use this fabric for something. For weeks I've been walking through the fabric store, looking at it, and thinking to myself, 'That needs to come home with me'. I finally broke down and bought 2 1/2 yards of this fabric. I hope you enjoy my tutorial!

Supplies:

Fabric of desired length

Matching Thread

Zipper

Elastic (1/2 Inch)

I laid my fabric down, right sides together a such. There should be two short ends open, along with one long side. 

Pin one short end together, and sew straight across. 

Mark where you would like your neck to pop out.

Cut out where you marked. Now, I cut mine too big. It would barely stay on my shoulders, but I am determined to fix it.

I matched the folds on a scrap of knit, from my slip tutorial, and cut out an identical piece from the neckline. 

Fold the fabric in half and decide where you would want your neckline. Then cut it out.

Pin the right sides together all around the neckline. Sew a straight stitch all the way around. 

Don't forget to serge or zig-zag your ends, like I did above. 

I sewed the inside edge to the front to give it some detail. You don't have to do this step unless you really want to. For the neck opening, fold the fabric over twice, pin, and sew with a straight stitch. 

Add your zipper however you learned to. Mine is off center, but I don't really care. I kinda like it. Now take the long edge that hasn't been sewn yet, and sew that together. Make sure to serge or zig-zag the seams.

Look on the lower right and left corners. You can see here that I cut out small crescent shapes for the arm holes. 

If you put your dress on, it will look something like this.

I flipped my dress like this, and pinned it all the way around in the middle where I wanted my waist line to be. Then I sewed a fraction more than 1/2 and inch around the entire way. 

I cut a small slit in the fabric and clipped a safety pin to one end of the elastic. Then I fed it through the loop, and sewed the opening closed.

(Sorry the picture is blurry) Doing the exact same thing from the neckline, follow those same steps in your arm holes and bottom hem. 

I am loving the bold pattern! And it must be good because the husband approves. Happy sewing!