Back-Opening T-Shirts. Skirts - A Cheat Sheet. Sewing A Peasant Dress. I’ve had several requests for an explanation of how the peasant dress underneath the apron dress and tab-front dress is made. Honestly, it's so dead easy I’m almost embarrassed to tell you how to do it. (But I will anyway:) Here goes: The green dress was made from one yard of fabric. The red gingham dress, 1 1/2. Iron your fabric and straighten the cut ends. To cut out the dress: Decide on the depth of the ruffle, then add ½” for a narrow hem and enough for a seam allowance at the top. Decide how long you want the sleeves to be. What you have left will become the front and back of your dress. To construct the dress: Join the ruffle together to make one continuous strip. Turn under ¼” twice on top and bottom of the large block (dress) and small block (sleeves) and hem. Cut the dress piece in half, lengthwise, as shown in the pattern layout. From each of the four pieces you now have, cut the top corners.
You may have to experiment with this length. Now you have what looks like a big T-shirt. Tutorial - Anatomy of a Sleeve. Sleeves, Necklines, Collars, & Dress Types | She's in Fashion. I’ve recently ventured into drafting patterns starting from my basic bodice and skirt sloper.
The fit issues are minimal, since the sloper is made skin tight. Design ease is added as you go along. I found these reference pictures useful for ideas on basic sleeves, necklines, collars, and dress types. These are from Vogue Sewing, circa 1982.