DIY Rectangle Dress Tutorial

This dress was one of the first things I shared with the sewing community and will always be one of my faves! It is made up of just rectangles and is a super versatile dress for all seasons. If you would like to know how to make this dress keep reading on but let me warn you…It was super hard to explain in writing and keep it short and sweet. In between most of these steps I pressed or ironed my work to keep it nice and neat. Irons are the best and are one of the best tools to have when sewing!

This dress used just under 2m of Tana Lawn at 138cm wide but I got a little bit extra in case I made a mistake. These measurements are based on my size, an Australian size 12.

I cut out 2 small rectangles for the top each measuring 48cm x 21cm, 2 large rectangles for the gathered skirt 78cm x 106cm, 2 small skinny rectangles for the straps 40cm x 5cm and 2 small skinny rectangles for facing 48cm x 3cm. All of these were cut on the grain so that the floral pattern matched up at the end. Ok, here we go!

Straps – Fold the strap over right sides together and sew up the sides to make a tube. Turn right side out and press. Do the same for the other strap so you have 2 identical straps.

Top – Attach the straps 12cm in from each side of the top pieces. Try it on and make sure the straps are not too long or short. Adjust length if necessary. Attach the facing to hide the ends of the straps and keep it neat. Sew up the side seams to make a cropped top. Try it on and check that it fits. Make any adjustments if necessary.

Skirt – Sew up the side seams of the skirt pieces, gather the skirt, pin the skirt to the top and make sure it all fits and lines up. Stitch or serge to attach the skirt to the top and then finish by hemming the bottom of the dress.

So that’s it! My first DIY tutorial! I hope you liked it/it made sense! So far I have paired this dress up with plain tees underneath and a plain black jumper over the top.