The shift dress is a short, loose fitting dress that looks good on anyone. It can be styled as a corporate look or a casual look depending on your choice. For this shift dress, I wanted a casual look so I used an African print and then a black fabric for the patch pockets. It's a very easy dress to make and requires little sewing knowledge because it's basically a straight dress. The pockets are aesthetically pleasing and what girl doesn't like pockets in her dress?
How It's Made
As usual, I marked my measurements on the wrong side of the fabric. I marked my shoulder width, neckline, armhole, bust, waist and hip circumference, and the length of the dress.
Then I cut out the front and back pieces. I also cut the exact thing on a black lining fabric but you can do without lining it if you wish. I made sleeves for the dress too.
I drew a rectangle 12 by 10 inches for the patch pockets and sewed them on the front piece of the dress. Ironing is very important to get a neat finish.
For the front neckline, I took a depth of 5 inches and made a 3 inches slit at the middle further down for my head to pass through.
And for the back neckline, I used 1½ inches for the depth.
I finished off by attaching the sleeves, closing the side seams and the hem.
I spent a total of 6 hours, eating, chatting and watching movie in between so you could do it for shorter. Making this myself is also very budget friendly because I spent a little over $1 as opposed to spending about $10 on online stores.
Here's the final look. Could be worn with flats or heels if you want to look dressier.
Thanks for reading!