OK, time to show-off your shoulders! This dress is perfect for our year-long hot and humid equatorial weather. I think it's a rather simple sewing project that a beginner can pull through.
You'll need:
2 m fabric
0.5 m lining fabric
1.5 m thin elastics
I don't have step-by-step photos this time around so I'll show a sketch of the steps. Here goes~
1. Cut fabrics based on the measurement below. I cut mine in vertical stripes because, umm, well, they say vertical stripes make us look thinner? Lol.
2. Sew the body fabrics right sides together, leaving a gap as the armhole. Iron the seams and sew around the armholes. Repeat for the other armhole. Mark the centre of the front and the back fabric.
3. Sew the two ends of the long fabric right sides together to form a loop. Iron the seam open and hem the bottom of the loop.
4. Iron down the top of the loop to form a casing. Mark the centre of the loop. Match the marks of the loop to that of the bodice and pin them together. Sew all around the loop but leave a small gap to slide in the elastic. Measure the elastic across your shoulder and chest so that it fits nicely. Safety pin one end of the elastic and slide it through the casing. Overlap the ends of the elastic and sew it together. Tug it into the casing and close the gap.
5. Sew the sides of the skirt right sides together. Repeat for lining fabric. Put the loops right sides together and sew all around the edge of the loop. Leave a small gap to insert elastic. Lengthen the machine stitch to the longest setting and sew around the top of the loop. Now gather the fabric by pulling the bobbin thread.
6. Adjust the size of the loop for the skirt so that it matches the bodice. Flip the bodice inside out with the top of the bodice facing down. Now put it into the loop of the skirt and sew them together. A casing is created (between skirt and lining) as you sew around the loop. Make sure the seam allowance is large enough for you to insert an elastic. Measure elastic around your waist so that it's a snug-fit. Safety pin one end of the elastic and slide it through the casing at the opening (from Step 5). Stitch the ends of the elastic together and close the gap. Flip the dress inside out and it's all done!
Ta-daah! This is me flaunting my dress! Hehe. More photos here.
Alternatively, if dresses aren't really your cup of tea, you can totally stop at Step 4, hem the bottom of the bodice and voile! You've got yourself an off-shoulder top! Or, you can cut it shorter to make it into a crop top. Or, you can also add an elastic at the bottom of the top to add a little more details. So yeah, choose which ever one works for you! Hehe.
P/S: My height and weight are 160 cm and 52 kg respectively. I hope this little info here will be useful for you to adjust the size of your dress accordingly. Anyway, this dress here is really kinda like a free-size dress because of the elastic shoulder and waist! :D
