I have been in a dress mood lately. With warmer weather fast approaching, I want to show you this new pattern from my sewing friend, Debbie! We are going to show you How To Make A Trapeze Dress With Free Pattern! This dress is definitely a summer favorite to wear over and over again. Its simple shape is flattering and it is so light and breezy. I have been wanting to make a dress like this for a while and this free printable pattern makes it oh so simple to cut out the fabric and size it for the perfect fit. This wardrobe essential is quickly becoming one of my favorites. If you have been wanting to try your hand at making some DIY clothing, this project is great for sewists of all skill levels. Why pay in-store prices when you can make it yourself for less? I love the flair of this dress and the fact that the shape is flattery for many body types. As dresses go, this one is simple to sew together. Perfect for a casual summer day or dress it up with heels for a night out.
When you pick out some cute fabric for this trapeze dress, make sure that it is a knit fabric with at least a 30% or more horizontal stretch. This will make the dress super comfortable to move and lounge around in. It will also keep the dress nice and light so it won’t weigh you down. Gather up and double check your supplies from the list below and let’s get started!
What You’ll Need:
- 1.25 Yards of 60″ Wide Fabric – Knit fabric with 30% or more horizontal stretch. BINDING FABRIC : Knit fabric with 50% stretch and good recovery.
- Iron
- Pins
- Scissors
- Optional Rotary Cutter & Mat
- Measuring tape
- Thread nippers
- Sewing machine
- Matching Thread
- Fabric marker
- Free Pattern
Size Chart:
| Imperial (inches) | Small | Medium | Large |
| Chest ** | 34 | 36 | 38 |
| Waist | 28 | 30 | 32 |
| Hip | 38 | 40 | 42 |
** This pattern is drafted for a B cup bust size and a height of 5’ 4”. Wanting to sew this in a smaller size or a bigger size? Then check out our post on How to Scale a pattern up and down.
Printing Instructions
This trapeze dress pattern has layers so that you can choose to print only the size you need. To achieve this Adobe Reader must be installed on your machine or device. Adobe Reader allows you to click on the layers icon, which will show you each size with an eyeball beside it. Click on the eyeball beside the size you do not want to print.
Before printing check that your printer is set to No scaling or Actual size. Set the Page orientation to Auto or Portrait. And then print page 1. Measure the 2” test square to see if it measures exactly 2”. If it does, print the remaining pages.
Trimming Pages
Cut off the right and top margins of each printed page before assembling the pattern.
You can use tape or school glue to adhere your paper pattern together.
Pattern Assembly
After the pages have been printed and trimmed as instructed above, use the quarter circles located at the corner of each page for perfect alignment. When done your pattern should look like this:
Pattern Pieces Checklist
Once you have printed and assembled your pattern. You will cut the following pieces. (The elastic length is provided in a cut chart and is not a pattern piece).
| Front Bodice | Cut 1 on Fold |
| Back Bodice | Cut 1 on Fold |
| Binding | Cut 1 – Neck Cut 2 on fold – Armhole |
Seam Allowance
Use a 3/8” seam allowance unless otherwise instructed
Looking to sew more dresses? Then you want to see our 35 free dress patterns that you can sew.
How To Make A Trapeze Dress With Free Pattern
The first step in this how to make a trapeze dress with free pattern tutorial is to wash and dry your fabric. Once you have done that, take the pattern that you printed and assembled and lay it out on your fabric. Use it to make the cuts from the cut list above.
Once you have cut out your fabric pieces, it is time to start putting your trapeze dress together. Place your front and back dress pieces right sides together. Pin at the shoulders and sew using a 3/8” seam allowance. Pin and sew the side seams from the armhole to the hem with fabric right sides together.
Once we have the main dress piece together, we need to work on the binding. Pin the short edges of the neckband binding as well as the armband pieces right sides together and sew.
Next on this how to make a trapeze dress with free pattern sewing tutorial, divide your neckband and armhole bindings into quarters as follows: Fold the binding in half at the sewn seam, insert a pin in the sewn seam and one at the opposite end. Fold binding again so that both pins are on top of each other and mark the other two ends by inserting pins. Repeat the steps for the neckband and armhole bindings. If you’ve followed our other tutorials, you are already familiar with this process.
To mark the neck on your dress in quarters : Fold the shoulder seams together and find the centre point of the front and back neckline – mark each with a pin. Place your centre back and centre front markings together and find the center mark of the shoulder. Note – The shoulder seam is not your centre point. We are about halfway through this how to make a trapeze dress with free pattern sewing tutorial!
Pin the neckband to the neckline aligning quarter marks. On the right side of the dress as well pin the arm bindings to the armholes, aligning quarter marks.
Now it’s time to sew it in place! Sew the neck binding and the arm binding in place using a stretch stitch. I used a zigzag stitch.
Fold the neck binding and armhole binding to the wrong side of the dress, encasing the raw edges. Simple topstitch the bindings in place on your trapeze dress.
For the last step in this how to make a trapeze dress with free pattern sewing tutorial, fold the hem of the dress 1/2” then another 1/2” and sew.
And that’s it! Now you know how to make a trapeze dress with free pattern! This cute dress is comfortable enough for you to wear all day long. This dress is perfect for those warmer days of summer. How many will you be making? Its loose and cool and carefree! It is also flattering on all body types. Dress it up with simple accessories or wear it with another layering piece for an evening out.
If you liked learning how to make a trapeze dress with free pattern, make sure to pin it to your favorite Pinterest board or share it with friends on social media. If you decide to make this simple project on your own, make certain that you take a picture afterward and tag us on social media as we love seeing the fabrics and color choices that people use!
How To Make A Trapeze Dress With Free Pattern
Make yourself a cute and comfy dress! This easy trapeze dress sewing tutorial is a great DIY clothing project for beginners. The included free pattern lets you easily cut out your fabric and size this just right.
Materials
Tools
Instructions
- Print & assemble the pattern. Cut out fabric according to pattern.
- Place your front and back dress pieces right sides together.
- Pin at the shoulders and sew
- Pin and sew the side seams from the armhole to the hem with fabric right sides together.
- Pin the short edges of the neckband binding as well as the armband pieces right sides together and sew.
- Divide your neckband and armhole bindings into quarters as follows: Fold the binding in half at the sewn seam, insert a pin in the sewn seam and one at the opposite end.
- Fold binding again so that both pins are on top of each other and mark the other two ends by inserting pins.
- Repeat the steps for the neckband and armhole bindings.
- To mark the neck on your dress in quarters : Fold the shoulder seams together and find the centre point of the front and back neckline – mark each with a pin
- Place your centre back and centre front markings together and find the center mark of the shoulder. Note – The shoulder seam is not your centre point.
- Pin the neckband to the neckline aligning quarter marks.
- On the right side of the dress as well pin the arm bindings to the armholes, aligning quarter marks.
- Sew the neck binding and the arm binding in place using a stretch stitch.
- Fold the neck binding and armhole binding to the wrong side of the dress, encasing the raw edges .
- Top stitch the bindings in place.
- Fold the hem of the dress 1/2” then another 1/2” and sew.
- You're Done! Enjoy!
Recommended Products
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Best Beginner Sewing Machines -
Fiskars Crafts 95237097J Rotary Sewing Cutting Set (3 Piece), Grey -
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LIVINGO Premium Tailor Scissors Heavy Duty Multi-Purpose Titanium Coating Forged Stainless Steel Sewing Fabric Leather Dressmaking Softgrip Shears Professional Crafting (9.5 INCH) -
Pinking Shears for Fabric, Zig Zag Scissors, Ergonomic Grips, Ultra-Sharp, Professional Peaking Shears for Sewing, Craft, Dressmaking, 9 Inch, Black
