(30) Days of Sundresses Boatneck Sundress Tutorial

Hey y’all! Well, I have been sewing up a storm in sundresses this month, and I’m excited to share another one with y’all. This is actually a hack of my Shoreline Boatneck pattern, and I am thrilled with how it turned out!

And I’m sharing the pattern hack – if you own (or buy) the Shoreline Boatneck, then it’s really easy. Download this pattern and lay it over the top (not dress) pages of the pattern. Line up with the side seams and corner of the armscye, and it will show you where to cut the pattern and add the darts and zipper seam allowance for this dress.

(Make sure to scroll down to the end of the post for more pictures – Tater took these and is pretty proud of himself, but not as proud as I am!)

Cut and supply list for this dress:

• Bodice front on fold from outer and lining fabric
• 2 Bodice backs from outer and 2 from lining fabric
• 3 skirt pieces; one front and 2 backs. – Use the skirt chart found in this post to cut your skirt – mine is 3 times my waist circumference in these picture, but of course you can make your skirt more or less full, and longer or shorter. On mine the front panel is 1.5 times my waist and each back panel is 0.75 times my waist circumference.
• 4 pocket pieces
• Invisible zipper 20″ long (or, if you prefer, you can use a regular zipper. That was my original plan but I didn’t have a regular zipper that matched my fabric).

To sew:

Start by marking the darts on the front and back bodice and lining pieces.

To sew darts, I pin horizontally through the markings as shown above on the left, then pinch the fabric along the pins to form the dart.

Darts should always be started at the fat end (which is called the base) and then sewn toward the point. DON’T backstitch at the point, instead sew off the end of the fabric and leave long thread tails, then tie the ends to secure the dart as shown below.

Repeat this process to sew all the darts on the outer and lining pieces.

Press the darts toward the side seams. Place the bodice front and backs right sides together and stitch at the shoulders as shown above. Repeat with the lining.

Place the lining and outer bodice right sides together, matching the shoulder seams, neckline and armholes. Stitch the neckline and armholes, then clip curves as shown below.

Gather the two back skirt panels to the same width as the back bodice pieces. (Need help with gathering? See this post.) Then place them right sides together with the bodice pieces and stitch the waistline.

If you’re using a regular zipper, see this post if you need help inserting it. If you’re using an invisible zipper, keep reading.

First, unzip your zipper and using your iron on the polyester setting, press each side so the coils uncurl.

Then, place your zipper right sides together with the right side of your back bodice and pin. The coils should be on the 1/2″ seam allowance. Using your zipper foot, stitch next the the coils on this side of the zipper. (Note: The instructions with the zipper may say something about needing a special zipper foot. You don’t need it. However, your coils may go under your regular zipper foot and you may need to have one hand behind the foot to evenly pull your fabric through. Go slowly and you’ll be fine!)

The next step can be hard to envision, but the picture above shows it. Fold your bodice so that it is right sides together with the center back matched up. Then place the left side of the zipper right sides together with the left bodice, with the coils on the seam line. (Tip: it helps to zip up the zipper and mark the waistline on the unsewn side before pinning, so you can make sure the waistline matches on both sides of the zipper) Stitch. Zip up the zipper.

Finally, pinch the entire back seam closed, right sides together,matching the skirt raw edges at the center back. Sew the skirt seam from the bottom up to just a couple stitches above the bottom of the zipper seams, then backstitch. Tack the bottom of the zipper to the seam allowance.

Gather the front skirt panel to match the front bodice as you did for the back bodice pieces.

To sew the pockets, line them up just below the waistline on each side of the skirt back and each side of the skirt front. Stitch along the straight edge.

Fold the dress right sides together, matching lining side seams, bodice side seams, pockets and skirt side seams. Stitch down the side seams and around each pocket. The stitch another seam from just above the pocket seam to the bottom of the skirt.

Fold the bodice so that the right side of the bodice and the lining are together, pinching the zipper in between. Stitch the lining to the zipper. Repeat on the other side of the bodice back.

Fold the bodice lining bottom edge up 3/8″ and pin over the waist seam. On the right side, stitch in the ditch of the waist seam to secure the lining to the dress.

Hem the skirt and you’re finished!

This is what the dress looks like without the belt.

But I’m in love with this yellow belt (and it was only $6 – can you believe it?) and it was the perfect pop of color on this dress.

The fabric is a pretty Japanese cotton lawn I picked up at a local shop, and it looks like she still has some in stock here. 

Don’t forget to enter this week’s giveaway – get a notions and fabric mystery box! Go here to enter. 

Join in the fun! Share your  handmade sundress goodness on Instagram (and please follow me! @mellysews) using the #30DaysOfSundresses hashtag.

And in case you’ve missed any of the posts so far, you can click on any picture below to go to the post.

Happy sewing,