https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/make-a-shirt-dress-with-no-pattern • Posted by Mister Domestic
When I first started sewing with knit, one of the first dresses that I made for Helena was a shirt dress with a front sport pocket. And as soon as I posted it on my Facebook, I had a bajillion requests from my grown up friends to make one for them. I made dressy versions and casual versions and pajama versions. The versatility of this style of dress was far more than I ever envisioned.
When I first started sewing with knit, one of the first dresses that I made for Helena was a shirt dress with a front sport pocket. And as soon as I posted it on my Facebook, I had a bajillion requests from my grown up friends to make one for them. I made dressy versions and casual versions and pajama versions. The versatility of this style of dress was far more than I ever envisioned.
I created a handy dandy guide for cutting that you can save for reference when you get to that stage. In addition to the cuts of the main fabric, you’ll also need to cut a collar band the same length plus 1” as your shirt, two wrist & a bottom band that are the width of your main fabric cuts and anywhere between four and six inches tall.
So if you want the front sport pocket on the dress, you’ll need to cut it out. I generally cut a piece at 60% of the width of the shirt front and then enough height to stick your hands in comfortably with some extra room on the bottom. Then I cut a curve for the hands and then cut a sliver off the bottom at an angle to give it that extra ooh la la.
Next, use an iron with the steam off to fold over and set the curved part of the pocket. I find that if you press without steam on knit that the folds don't open back up. Use either a cover stitch or a Domestic machine stretch stitch.
Now you’ll need to guess where you're hands will land for the pocket. And by guess I mean measure and then baste it in place with glue or pins and top/cover stitch the remainder of the edges of the pocket.
If you’ve never sewn knit cuffs before, it’s the same process as sewing the neckband on, but it’s a lot easier since the length is the same for both fabrics. One tip that I’ve learned when sewing arm cuffs is to sew it with the cuff facing up instead of having it go around the circular part on the body of the machine. Unless the cuff is larger than that part of the machine, it will stretch and cause it to warp a little, which is why I do it this way.
The collar is stitched using a stretch stitch. Before sewing, make sure there is even distribution of the folded collar around the perimeter of the top opening.