A dress tutorial by popular demand

We just got back from California last night. I took a fairly small wardrobe for the trip (five changes of clothes for fifteen days). One of the mainstays of my vacation wardrobe was this dress.

It's a variant of

below is the schematic for the dress.

the One Hour Dress developed by the brilliant Mary Brooks Picken. The One Hour Dress is cut with wide sides that are gathered at the hips to give the wearer walking ease. I had read an article about the one hour dress years ago and tried to make the dress following the directions to pleat the sides. The final look was hugely unflattering on me but when I let the wide sides fall naturally then I ended up with a really flattering dress that looked much more complicated than it actually was. Made in a knit I can whip up one of these dresses

not in an hour, but in something closer to twenty minutes.

My sister in law fell in love with this dress as did our friend Lisa who asked me for the pattern. I don't have a pattern per se but I have made a tutorial using paper to explain how one does the cutting. I hope that this helps.

Probably the easiest way to create this dress is to find a tank top or t-shirt that fits you well.

As for fabric - you need a length of knit fabric that folded in half will reach from your shoulder to the length that you want the dress to be. I will usually start with a 1.5 to 2 yard length of fabric. Most knits come around 55 inches wide. You want the stretch to go around your body if you want to be comfortable in the dress.

Fold the fabric in half north to south and then in half east to west.

Lay your t-shirt or tank top folded in half on the fold of the fabric.

Pay attention to the geography of the shirt, particularly where the bustline and the waistline sit.

Now it is time to cut out your dress.Some people will chalk out the outline of the shirt. I am more likely to plunk a few tuna cans on the shirt to weigh it down so it doesn't shift, and start by cutting the shoulderline, and the armscye ( that's the armhole in regular English).

Next you can continue to cut below the armscye to the waist or even lower to the hip and then cut a straight line away from the fold. and then cut a straight line down to the hem.

When you are done cutting

you will be left with something that looks like this when folded,

and like this when unfolded.

Sew the shoulder seams together and then sew the dress from below the armholeout to the side and then down to the hem. You will end up with side drapes that look complicated. Gravity turns the funny boxed sides into a complicated, sophisticated looking drape.

I see looking at this photo that I went wide at mid hip on this dress. I also didn't go very wide at the sides, I added perhaps 6-8 inches beyond my actual hip width.

I this grey version of the dress I cut wide at the waist.

The grey dress was made in an even lazier way.

You can see the cutting draft below.

You can finish off these dresses any way you like.The blue dress got a twisted cowl neck. I seem to recall that I had cut the neckline funny and the twisted cowl made a mistake into --not a mistake. I turned and finished the armholes but fifteen years later I still haven't hemmed the skirt

The grey dress was cut a bit too short so I added a slightly darker and denser grey knit facing for the hem and the dress lies better on me.

The grey dress works best on me belted, the blue dress looks fine either way.

The version below is from a French fashion magazine of the 1920s. If you click on the image it will enlarge.

It's a whole lot of look for very little effort. I have mostly made these dresses in knits but you can certainly make one or a dozen in a woven fabric, just be sure to cut the bodice part bigger to account for the fact that most wovens don't have stretch.

This dress can be made imperfectly and still look terrific. This is the dress I make when I am depressed or anxious because in twenty minutes I am less depressed or anxious because I have a new dress.

Go forth and make a dress or a dozen.

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