I love to dress up, but must say that I have a hard time when it’s cold out.  So, for my winter wardrobe, I decided to make this comfy and cozy sweaterdress with long sleeves and an elastic waistband.  To add to the comfort factor, I added front pockets, because, honestly, who doesn’t love a dress with pockets?  Now onto our comfy, cozy sweatdress tutorial!

You can also make a summer version of this dress using my Striped Summer Dress Tutorial.

The skinny:

Okay, I may have a slight problem with pockets, or at least with wanting to add pockets to everything.  My Comfy, Cozy, Sweaterdress Tutorial could be made much simpler without pockets, but pockets make my world go ’round, so… pockets were added.  I generally reuse patterns that I make, as they are pretty easy to modify.  However, with this dress and the inclusion of pockets in the front (as opposed to inseam side pockets), I decided to make all new pattern pieces.

I used thick, knit, sweater-like material.  The fabric sort of had a mind of its own, so I found that 3/8″ worked as the best seam allowance.  With ¼”, the material would meander or roll up too much and the sewing machine would sometimes miss one of the pieces of fabric.  Also, rolled hems, even with a wide stitch, would create a sort of wavy texture, so keep that in mind when sewing your sleeves and skirt hem.

This dress will consist of 12 pieces that include:  the front shirt panel, the back shirt panel,  the front skirt panel, the back skirt panel, two (2) sleeves, the front neckline facing, the back neckline facing, two (2) front pockets, and two (2) back pockets.  I’m going to include how I made my pattern pieces in this post.  To help make the pattern, I used 3 pieces of clothing that I own; a knit dress that fits well (to make the shirt), a long sleeve shirt with the desired arm length (to make the sleeves), and a second dress with the overall length that I want (to make the skirt).

Materials:

• 1½ – 2 yards of knit bouclé fabric (depending on the fabric width)
• 3/4″ elastic waistband (as long as your desired waist)
• matching thread

Now onto my Comfy, Cozy Sweaterdress Tutorial

Instructions:

MAKING THE PATTERN

1.  First we are going to make the pattern for the back shirt panel of the dress.  We’ll need to determine where the waist will be.  Try on the knit dress that you will be using for the shirt and place a pin at the desired location of the waist line.

Place your knit dress onto pattern paper (I use newsprint paper, as I have plenty of that around).  Tuck the arms under and trace around the dress adding a ½” margin for the seam and error.  Trace all the way around the top of the dress adding 2″ to the length below the waist (where you placed your pin) and draw a line across marking the bottom of the shirt panel.  The added 2″ will be used for making the elastic casing.

*Note – I originally only added ½”  to the length of the below the waist and I had to sew on an extra piece of fabric to make the elastic casing.  Be wiser than I was and cut it right the first time!

Cut out the back shirt panel pattern.  Fold the pattern piece in half and trim any excess off the sides to make the outline even.

2.  Trace and cut a second copy of the back shirt panel.  This will be for the front shirt panel of the dress.  Adjust the neckline to your liking.  I made mine into a rounded v-neck.

3.  Next we will make the long sleeve pattern.  Take your pattern paper and fold it in half.  To determine the shape of the armpit area, place your cut out shirt along the folded pattern paper, keeping in mind that the top fold is the top of the length of the sleeve. Trace along the armpit area.

Using a long sleeve shirt that you like the arm length of, place the shirt sleeve on the pattern paper, matching the top of the shirt sleeve to the folded edge of the pattern paper.  Trace along the sleeve adding ½” margin along the bottom and sleeve end.  You want the bottom and top of the arm sleeve to have straight lines.

Cut out the sleeve, being sure to keep the fold along the top of the sleeve intact.  After cutting out the sleeve, you can line it up to the shirt panel to make sure the armpit lines up.

4.  Next we will make the back skirt panel.  Using a dress that you like the overall length of, draw around the bottom of the dress adding a ½” margin for the seam.

Cut out the back skirt panel pattern.  Again, fold the pattern piece in half and trim any excess off the sides to make the outline even.

5.  Trace and cut a second copy of the back skirt panel.  This will be the front skirt panel of the dress.  Fold the pattern in half and using a bowl or some other rounded object, trace around the bowl (about ¼ of the bowl) to make the scoop for the pocket opening, and cut the scoop out.

6.  Finally we will cut out the pattern for the pocket pieces.  Using the bottom front panel, trace along one of the top corners (I used the right side).  Trace the scoop, trace along the top of the panel 3″ from the scoop edge, and trace along the side of the panel 6″ down from the scoop edge.  Square off the pockets by drawing a line perpendicular to the top and side.  I curved the inside corner here to make it more pocket friendly (I don’t want to lose change in the corner).  This is your front pocket piece.  Cut out a second one of these, but without the top scoop.  This is your back pocket piece.

Now we have all our pattern pieces.

MAKING THE DRESS

1. Pin/trace your pattern pieces onto the wrong side of your fabric, keeping sure to orient the grain of the fabric so the stretch goes from side to side for your shirt and skirt pieces, and along the width of the sleeves (see diagram above).  I folded my fabric in half and traced my pattern pieces onto the fabric with white pastels.  Using the neckline of your pattern pieces, trace out your neckline facings (trace the the overall shape of your necklines making them 1½ – 2″ wide for both the front and back necklines).  Fold the neckline facings in half and cut ½” off the end of each to make them 1″ shorter than the necklines on the shirt.  The neckline facings help keep the shape of your necklines nice and taught.

2.  Cut out the 12 dress parts.

Now for the fun part! The sewing!  (I always start off with some scraps, putting the right needle on the machine, then figuring out the proper thread tension. Better to do this on scrap material than on your soon-to-be lovely dress!).

3.  We’re going to start with the shirt part of the dress first.  Right sides together, pin, and then sew across the top of each shoulder, with a 3/8″ hem allowance. Sew across the top of the shoulders. Repeat (for good measure).

4.  Next, the neckline.  Take your front and back neckline pieces, and with right sides together, pin and sew the edges together with a 3/8″ allowance, creating a circle.  Repeat this stitch.

Take  your new neckline circle, and right sides together, pin to the neckline of the shirt.  Be sure to match up both seams, and the bottom of the front neckline (if you made it deep).  You might need to stretch the neck lining while pinning to evenly match them together.  Sew these together with a ¼” – 3/8″ seam allowance. (You want to make sure you leave enough material to be able to fold over into the neckline).  Trim off some of the fabric inside the neckline (not the fabric that will fold over into the neckline).

Fold over the sewn neckline facing and tuck onto the inside of the neckline.  Pin in place and sew with a wide stitch.  If possible, use a ½” allowance, but if not, use a 3/8″ allowance. Repeat this stitch.

5.  Now we will attach the sleeves to the shirt. Right sides together, match the middle of the shoulder part of the sleeve to the shoulder seam on the shirt, pin the sleeve in place, making your way down to the armpits.

Sew with a 3/8″ seam allowance.  Do this with the other sleeve. Try it on. If it fits well. Repeat and cut off any excess fabric from the inside seam.

Right sides together, Starting with the end of your sleeve, pin and sew along the bottom of the sleeve, to the armpit, and along the side of the shirt down to the bottom of the shirt with a 3/8″ allowance.  Repeat and cut off any excess fabric.  Do this for the other side.

You might want to try it on at this point and see how the sleeves fit.  Depending on your tastes, you can resew the seam allowance tighter if you need to.  Trim off any excess.

Roll the end of the sleeves in ½” and hem this with a wide straight stitch.

6.  Next we will move on to the pockets.  I first learned about the curved pockets from this post by  Very Homemade.  Pin the front and back pockets together.  We’re going to sew along two sides, the bottom and the side that will towards the center of the dress.  I did mine with a 3/8″ allowance.  Now you should have your pockets attached at two sides.

Next, place the pockets behind the front skirt panel and line up the curve of each pocket with the curve of the front skirt panel.  Fold over the edge of the curves into the pockets ¾” and pin in place.  Using a wide stitch, sew the pockets to the front skirt panel along the curve,  Repeat for good measure.

Now, right sides together, pin the back skirt panel to the front skirt panel along the sides.  Make sure the pockets are laying flat, and that the sides of the pockets line up with the sides of the dress and are also pinned in place.  Sew along the sides using a 3/8″ allowance.  Sew along the top of the skirt to attach the pocket to the front of the skirt.  You can sew this on the right side using a ¼” – 3/8″ allowance.

7.  Now I want to make the casing for the elastic.  *Disclaimer, I intended to make my shirt long enough to be able to fold it up 1 1/4″, to create a 1″ width casing and still allow for a 1/4″ seam to attach the shirt to the skirt.  However, as I made my shirt a bit too short, I had to create a casing from a separate piece of fabric.  I will explain the second part, as that is what I actually had to do for this dress, but if you’re better at targeting the length of your shirt than I am, you can just fold up the bottom of the shirt 1 1/4- 1 1/2″, pin in place, and sew leaving 2″ open at the end to allow a place to feed the elastic through. But for me… back to the cutting table!

Cut out 2 (2) 5″ strips of material to the width of the bottom of your shirt.  Pin and sew the ends together (right side facing each other) with a 3/8″ seam allowance, to make a circle.

Right sides together, pin the casing to the bottom of your shirt, making sure that the seams match up on the sides.  Sew this with a 3/8″ seam allowance.

Fold the bottom of the casing up halfway on the wrong side, and inside your shirt, pin the wrong side of the bottom of the casing to the newly sewed hem of the top of the casing.  Sew this with a 3/8″ hem allowance, leaving a 2″ gap  open (where you will feed your elastic through).

8.  In the next step, we’re going to attach the skirt to the shirt.  Take your skirt and attach it to the bottom of the elastic casing on your shirt, right sides together.  Make sure you are attaching the front of the skirt part with the pockets to the front part of your shirt.  First pin them on the two side seams, and once those are matched up, pin the rest together,  Sew with a 3/8″ hem allowance.  Remember that you have to feed the elastic through the casing, so make there sure is enough width left in the casing before sewing it together (in case you need to adjust the hem allowance).

9.  Now to add the elastic waistband.  Try on the dress and see where the casing falls.  Measure this area of your waist and cut your elastic band to the same length.  Attach a safety pin to one end and feed this through your elastic casing.  Once you get it through, overlap your elastic ends 1 1/2″ and sew these together with a zigzag stitch.  Cut off the excess.

Pin the elastic waistband in place so you don’t sew through it.  Sew the 2″ gap closed. Make sure you are only sewing along the casing and the shirt part (I got confused almost sewed the shirt to the skirt).

10.  The very last step is to sew the hem of the skirt.  Fold it twice and pin in place (I folded mine 3/4″ and then 3/4″ again making an overall 1 1/2″ hem),  Sew this up with a wide straight stitch and you are done!  I hope you enjoyed my Comfy, Cozy Sweaterdress Tutorial!