Pattern adaption: Low-Back Designer Dress

Create centre back opening

Start by sticking some dressmaker's pattern paper to the centre back edge of the pattern paper.
Widen the centre back opening for the button stand by extending the cutting line by 4cm.

Locate the centre back edge of the back facing pattern piece and stick some dressmaker's pattern paper to that edge.

Also, extend the centre back edge by 4cm to ensure that both edges are equal.

Create darts

In order to locate the middle of the waistline of the back dress, you will need to draw a line across the waist notches. The line you draw has to be perpendicular to the grain line on the sewing pattern.

Starting from the original centre back edge, measure the length of the waistline and identify the midpoint. Mark that point and mark out 1.5cm on either side of the point.

Now you will have 3cm marked out in the middle of the waistline. Carefully, make 3 1cm segments to show the widths of the darts. From this point, you are ready to create your darts.

Note that there will be a 1cm gap in between the other 1cm dart widths.

On dart 1, mark the 0.5cm midpoint and draw a long line which would be perpendicular to the waistline (also known as the fold line).

Here are the recommended dart lengths: 12cm along the bodice segment of the dress and 15cm along the skirt segment of the dress

With the dart lengths determined, outline the rest of the dart which includes the dart legs which are the diagonal lines that connect the apex to the mark on the waistline. Repeat on dart 2.

Start Sewing

You will need to follow the steps detailed in the sewing manual on the Prym website. However, you will stop after step 3 and sew the darts on the back of the dress.

Mark and sew darts

Using a tracing wheel and some dressmaker's tracing paper (in a contrasting colour), transfer the darts from the sewing pattern to the wrong side of your fabric.

From the wrong side of each dress back, carefully pinch the fabric, following the outlined dart markings and pin the darts in place.

Then stitch the darts from one apex to the other but be careful not to create a sharp corner at the waist point of the dart.

Steam press the darts towards the side back of each dress back then set them aside and continue with the rest of the sewing instructions.

Note that you will skip step 14 because the centre back will not be stitched closed. Also, in step 21, when stitching the front to the back of the dress at the side seams, you will need to stitch to sew all the way to the hem as there will be no opening at the side seams. The opening will be at the centre back.

Stop after step 25. At this point, you will have an unfinished neckline.

Prepare the button stand:

Mark and cut out two 3cm wide pieces of light interfacing. Gently fuse them onto the wrong side of both back pieces at the centre back and leave them to set.

Finish the neckline:

With the right sides together, pin the fused facing pieces to the dress at the neckline edge (ensure that they meet at the shoulder seams).

Along the centre back edge, mark out a 2.5cm stitching line which would serve as a guideline. However, the seam allowance for the neckline would be 1cm. Sew all around the neckline facing.

Starting from one centre back edge to the other, trim off 0.5cm from the facing’s seam allowance then clip into the seam allowance.

Understitch the seam allowance to the facing to ensure that the neckline facing is neatly tucked away. Then press the neckline.

In order to further stabilize the neckline, pin the facing to the dress’ shoulder seam and carefully stitch in the ditch to hold the facing in place.

Create the buttonholes:

With the neckline clean and finished, fold under 0.5cm along the centre back edge of the dress (from the top edge to the hem) and press. Then fold under 2cm and press it in place.

Starting from the original centre back edge, measure the length of the waistline and identify the midpoint. Mark that point and mark out 1.5cm on either side of the point.

Topstitch along the folded edge of the newly-pressed button stand.

Determine the size of the button by measuring across the widest part of the button. This will be the length of the buttonhole.

On the right-hand side of the dress back, mark out the button holes and make sure that the space between each buttonhole stays equal. There will be a short slit or opening at the centre back of the dress, so the number of buttons and buttonholes will depend on how long or short you prefer for the slit to be.

Before sewing the buttonholes, stitch a test buttonhole to ensure that you are happy with the length of the buttonhole.

Sew the button holes using the markings you created on the button stand.

Tip:

Apply fray check on the stitched buttonholes and allow to set. This would help to minimize the possibility of fraying after the buttonholes are cut open.

After cutting the buttonholes open, mark the button positions by laying the buttonhole stand on top of the button stand. The button position should be marked in the middle of the buttonhole.

Now you will have 3cm marked out in the middle of the waistline. Carefully, make 3 1cm segments to show the widths of the darts. From this point, you are ready to create your darts.

Stitch the buttons using the marked out button positions as a guide. This can be done by hand or by machine.