Browsing on Burdastyle, I found a dress which looked so complicated, yet so beautiful. When I continued reading, I found out that this dress was actually very simple to make. Researching into it a bit more, I found this blog with a simple tutorial on how to make it. So I did. And it really is a quick project. The only tricky thing is to lay out and cut your fabric. This project surely is a yard burner. In the end, there is just 1 seam to serge. And i you want to do a longer version, then there will be 3 seams total.
Here a couple of hints that will make the dress a success:
Fabric:
Choose a Wool, Soy or Cotton blend with Elastan or Lycra component. The fabric should have enough body to give you good coverage and support. Try to avoid Polyester Microfiber blends and Bamboo based fabrics. As those won’t give you the support you need. Also, if you go with a printed fabric, be aware that the wrong side of the fabric will show once you are draping the ties around your body.
Tie Length:
I have found that the calculation of 1.5 x body height turned out too long and hard to handle. 2 yards usually do the trick. Unless you are a tall woman, then I’d go with 2.25 yards.
The Waist Circle:
In most cases, the dress sits directly under the bust, therefore I’d suggest to use the under-bust measurement to determine the radius for the inner cutting circle. Rostitchery recommends to divide this measurement by 3 and again by 2. In my case: 32:3= 10.5″:2= 5.25″ However, if your fabric is really stretchy, go even with half of that measurement or you’ll have to pull your waist while stretching out your waistband piece.
Will head over to Bolt this weekend to stock up on more knits for further dresses. They are having a great sale starting Friday. Maybe see you there.
I really love this dress, I followed your link from Burdastyle to get here.
I’m planning on making this dress my winter project, but I just have one question.
You say that 1.5 x body length is too long, and unless you’re a tall woman 2 yards will be enough. How tall is tall? I’m 5’8” – do you think I should go for 2.25 yards?
Thanks for sharing your tips!!
though i knew the dress, i really love your take on it and the all-ways-in-one pic, great overview, can’t help but want to try it too!
Thank you, Magdamagda! It really is an easy project just takes up a lot of fabric!
Hi Sophie, Thank you
The good thing is that you’ll always be able to chop of the ties if they are too long. I myself am 5’5″ and cut ties 2.5″ long. But the ties (as you might be able to see on the pictures) are really long and get almost unmanageable. In your case, I’d go with 2.25′ and cut some off if you find it’s too long. Hope this helps:)
hey Daniela,
You’ve inspired me! I’ve included your dress in a post on The Handmade Experiment. Check it out. http://wp.me/pkcUM-xS
Thank you! Make one – it really is very easy. You’ll like the outcome. Hope you guys are well!
Hi! Just found this post when I was looking for instructions on the infinity dress. I love the white trim you have on the dress. Is that the wrong side of the fabric or an additional trim you put on? It gives the dress such a high end look!
Thanks!
Laura
Hi Laura! You are exactly right: Its the wrong side of the fabric. I wanted it to have a finished look, so I did a rolled hem along the straps which gave it a bit more stability.