This is a relaunch of one of our most popular patterns ever on So Sew Easy. This cute wrap dress pattern is fun and easy to make and looks great.
The front has a cross-over bodice with pleats, there's a straight skirt and an optional elastic waist, with a matching tie belt. Only the bodice wraps over leaving you safe from embarrassing wardrobe malfunction that can happen with wrap skirts.
Where can you get the wrap dress pattern?
As usual, to make downloading easy and reliable, the pattern is hosted in my design account with Payhip. If you don’t already have an account, you will need to sign up to download, but don’t worry, it’s free, quick and easy. Add the pattern to your cart, and then checkout – no payment/address details etc needed.
Download multi-size pattern pieces from my design account at Payhip...
Can I see some more pics before I decide?
Of course you can. Here are some other views of the wrap dress.
Features:
- Cross-over bodice
- Optional tie belt
- Waist seam with optional elastic waist
- Pleats on front bodice
- Separate sleeves
- Straight skirt
- Multi-sizes pattern from small to extra large
Making up your pattern
Your pattern is conveniently split into 4 pieces to make it more manageable. Each is labeled with a letter and number. Numbers run top to bottom and left to right. Cut off or turn under the page edges and match the borders with the adjoining pages. If you need more information on how to put together your pattern, you can read more in the Summer Drape Top.
The bodice back pattern consists of 6 pages starting B and should be laid out as below.
The left bodice front comes on its own and it prefixed with L, pages 1-9. Laid out 3 rows of 3 sheets.
The right-hand side bodice piece and the sleeve come on 12 pages, prefixed with R, and are set out as below.
And lastly, the skirt piece is prefixed S, pages 1-8 as below.
{UPDATE} – a new digital pattern is now available to download. It replaces this hand-drawn one from 15th June 2014. It is easier to print, uses 20% fewer sheets, and should be easier to put together. There are 28 sheets, and these are set out 1 to 7 in each row. Once assembled, it should look like this –>
What Size Do I Need?
The dress is made from a stretchy knit fabric and is intended to be a comfortable fit on the body with ease in both the bodice and skirt. Fitting ease is also included in the pattern so you can adjust and take in for your own personal measurements. The size I made for myself I am calling the Medium. My measurements are high bust (around the back and over the bust high under the arms) 36, Bust 37, Waist 32, Hips/Thigh widest point 40.
The amount of stretch and drape in the fabric will alter the fit and feel of the dress so use this table as a guide only.
| Bust | Waist | Hips | |
| Small | 32-34 | 25-28 | 34-36 |
| Medium | 36-38 | 29-32 | 38-40 |
| Large | 40-42 | 33-36 | 42-44 |
| Extra Large | 44+ | 37+ | 46+ |
If you fall in between sizes, you can also cut between the lines, and you can ‘grade' from one size to another by, for example, cutting a large in the waist curving out to an extra-large at the hip if you need to.
Always test the fit using the paper pattern pieces, or an inexpensive test fabric before cutting your expensive fabric for this dress. If in doubt test the larger size and adjust for fitting at the side seams during construction.
Adjustments to length. The dress is designed to fit an average height – I am 5'6″, and hits above the knee. If you are taller or prefer the skirt to be longer, simply add some length to the skirt piece at the bottom.
Cutting your fabric
If you need directions for cutting out your fabric, follow the general directions for the Summer Drape Top. I was able to comfortably cut the size Medium from 2 yards of 54-inch wide fabric, with some leftover.
Wrap Dress Sewing Instructions
Seam allowances – 5/8th of an inch throughout unless mentioned. Use stitches appropriate for stretch such as a narrow zigzag or a stretch stitch if your machine has one.
Start with the right-hand front bodice piece and using a disappearing fabric marker, draw lines from the inward and outward points of the zig-zags at the side seam, following the length shown on the pattern, making all lines finish evenly.
Pleat those lines together, matching the lines carefully and evenly, and pin in place. You should make 4 pleats.
Sew along the lines marked.
Press pleats downwards. Don't worry if they are a bit uneven (like mine), it will look just fine.
On the left front bodice piece, mark the pleat on the wrong side, pin, and then sew.
Press the pleat.
With right sides together, match shoulder seams, pin and sew. You may choose to stablise with a stay tape such as this knit stay tape at the shoulder seam (optional). Press shoulder seams open.
Iron on stay tape to the whole front cross-over edge on both bodice pieces and along the back neckline.
Turn over a 5/8 inch hem along the whole edge and topstitch.
Cross over front bodice pieces with the right-hand piece on top, showing the 4 pleats. Match up the center front and notches, then pin and baste into place close to the edge, along both of the side seams and the waist seam.
Optional – add a stay tape to the bottom edge of the sleeves.
Pin the sleeves to the bodice, matching the sleeve center with the shoulder seam, and ease the sleeves to fit the opening. Sew. Trim seam and finish edges (optional.)
Pin side seams and sleeve seam. Try on to check fit. Adjust as necessary.
Sew side seams and close underside of sleeves all in one seam.
Optional – trim seams and finish edges.
With right sides facing, pin skirt side seams. Try on for fit, adjust as necessary and sew side seams.
With right sides facing, match bodice with the skirt at the waist seam. Match center front and center back of the bodice with the center of skirt pieces and match side seams. Pin in place, then try on for fit and adjust if necessary.
Sew waist seam with 5/8th inch seam allowance. You may either leave as is and trim and finish the seams, or add an optional elastic waist.
To add elastic waist, make a casing by closing edges of waist seam without trimming, using an overcasting foot and stitch, or by sewing close to the edge. Leave an inch open and thread through a narrow 3/8th inch elastic.
Adjust to fit waist comfortably then stitch elastic ends together with a zig-zag stitch and close casing.
Try on and check skirt length. Optional – iron your knit stay tape all along the bottom hemline of the skirt for a crisp wrinkle-free finish.
Turn up skirt hemline and finish. I prefer a twin needle finish, but you can finish with a narrow zig-zag if you like.
Turn up the hem on sleeves and finish with a twin needle or using your preferred method.
Cut 6-inch wide length of fabric for tie belt. Test to check what length works best for you. With right sides together, sew close to the edge with a narrow zig-zag stitch along the whole length and to close one end, either square or to a point. Turn tube the right sides out, turn under a small hem on the open end and finish either by hand or with a machine topstitch.
You may also like the belt made from contrasting fabric or use an existing belt. The dress can also be worn without a belt if you prefer.
And you are finished! Wear and enjoy your new dress and don't forget to send me your photos.
I’ve downloaded this pattern, and only want to make a wrap top, not the whole dress. The trouble is looking at the PDF file, there’s no distinction between which pieces belong to which part of the dress as its detailed in your write-up above. Help! LOL I don’t want to cut and tape together 30 pages when I only need 20!
Hi Deb, This pattern isn’t really designed to make a wrap top, the fit on a top would be entirely different really to the bodice of a dress, so unless you have some experience in drafting your own patterns, to make the modifications necessary, I think for a wrap top you should look to use a different pattern. However, if you do want to go ahead, I can send you the old hand-drawn version which is split up into the separate elements. Just drop me an email and I’ll get it right over to you.
Hi Deby, I tried to download this lovely pattern and I didn’t get any pdf files, just a bunch of image files, icons etc.. Is this pattern still available? Thanks.
Hi Eleaine, yes its still available and I went and downloaded it and it worked OK for me. Did you unzip the folder to get to the PDF files inside? You might find this post useful – https://so-sew-easy.com/download-print-pdf-sewing-patterns/. If you still have trouble, drop me an email and I’m sure we can sort it out.
Hi Deby,
I was so excited to try this dress as I have a piece of fabric sitting around perfect for this dress. I put together the left bodice and back bodice pattern piece and I get to the right side and sleeve and R1 and R10 do not line up properly with their counterparts. Do you have any suggestions on how I can fix this. I am a newbie and don’t know how redrawing the lines will affect the outcome. Any help would be appreciated. If you need I can send pics on what I am referring to.
Thanks for any help you can give
Natasha
Hi Natasha. The dress pattern was drawn out onto the sheets in one piece and then they were split up, so it really should all match. Perhaps something didn’t print correctly, or somewhere one or two of the pieces aren’t set in properly causing it all to be off. I just printed them all out myself and set them together to check, and things lined up for me. Strange, but these things can happen. If you are still stuck, drop me an email with your picture so I can take a look. I’m also redrafting this as a digital version but it won’t be ready for a while yet. Can you wait or are you excited to get sewing?
I’ve completed the digital pattern and its already loaded in Craftsy, so if you want to take a look at that one instead, its there and ready for you.
Thanks so much for this pattern, Deby! I love the style. I’m new to sewing with knits but look forward to trying this! Your instructions are so thorough and helpful.
I absolutely love this pattern and I am sure you are fed up of questions from Newbies like myself but just one meow please. I have seen soon beautiful. Fabric that is 95% cotton 5% Lycra. Will that stretch enough for this dress.
That sort of mix is often described as a cotton lycra and would commonly be found used in t-shirts and casual clothes. It can sometimes vary in weight between very thin like tissue paper, to really quite thick and heavy. It would probably have enough stretch, but check the weight, unroll a large piece and hold it up, wrap it around you etc before you decide if it is right for this dress pattern. Then – good luck with the sewing and I hope you love it.
Hi. If I use different fabric than knit (seersucker) does th size change?? Also if I dont want the pleats how would you modify it. Thx
Hi Leslie. This dress will only work with a stretch fabric because it doesn’t have any openings such as a zip or buttons, so unless the fabric stretches you won’t be able to get it on and off. I think if you want to make such drastic modifications as leaving out the pleats and making it in a non-stretch fabric, you would be better to start with a different pattern altogether. Sorry.
Thx. I saw a wrap dress in seersucker and i wanted to get around of spending 80dls trying to do it myself. Thank you again.
I hope you can find just the right pattern for you.
Thanks so much for the patterns. It is exactly what I am looking for. Thanks !!!
Is this pattern still available? I could not get it to download from Craftsy. Thanks, Pam
Yes its still available Pam. You can go to your pattern library from the left hand side menu on Craftsy and re-download from that page. Let me know if you have problems.
How much fabric?
Can’t wait to try this pattern! I have just printed it. Did I miss where it advises how much fabric it will require? Medium or large (depending on fit) will be the size I’ll be sewing. This is my first visit to this website…and I love what I see! Great job!
I haven’t advised on length of fabric because there are just so many variables, especially the width of the fabric, the size you are sewing and whether there is any pattern matching etc. Typically, because the skirt isn’t flared and the sleeves are short, assuming you use 60 inch wide fabric you would need a length of about your shoulder to shin height.
And welcome to the site too! It’s lovely to have a new reader.
Thank you so much for both notes! Happy Holidays!
Oh my goodness! This is simply beautiful, and it looks amazing on you but like some others I am intimidated to make it for me. You do have thorough explanation which does make it more like I can do it. Maybe by warmer weather I will have more confidence.Thank you!
Maybe you could get your hands on a cheap fabric remnant and give it a try for your first time Christy. Its really not that difficult, and being a stretch fabric, its quite forgiving. Then once you are more confident, make yourself a whole wardrobe of them!
speaking of fabric, I love the blues in this dress, my kind of print. Where did you find that fabric?
The fabric was a one-off lucky find at my local fabric store. It is really more of a remnant shop in a lot of ways, just has odds and ends, you can never be sure what will turn up. Most of it isn’t my style, but then one day – this lucky piece! It wasn’t marked in any way so I can’t say where you might be able to get it – sorry.
Hi, I’m confused with the pdf file, each page shows a a separate file, it’s not a continuous print, did I do something wrong?
Each pattern page is drawn up separately. You usually don’t even need to open them. Just select a number at a time, right click and print. Make it easy by selecting all the ones starting B, print those first. Then the next set etc. Makes putting it together easy. I hope this helps. Deby
Thank you for the detail tutorial.
Hi Deby,
I am SO excited to make this dress – it looks gorgeous! While I am certainly no expert, I have made several dresses & pajama sets for my kids and skirts/dresses for myself. However, all of those were made of 100% cotton – I have never used knits and I do not own a serger. Is it possible to do this on a regular sewing machine? And if so, are there any adjustments that would need to be made to keep the fabric from puckering or stretching too much?
Thanks! 🙂
Hi Mary, I suggest testing out your stitches on some scraps of the fabric first. I use a regular sewing machine and don’t have any problems but there are a few tips and tricks. On seams that will stretch, use a narrow zig zag stitch, and don’t start stitching right at the edge of the fabric. Stitch slowly to stop the fabric ‘bouncing’ around and especially use a special needle for knit fabrics called a ball point or a stretch needle. Take care not to stretch the fabric as you sew, just let it feed through normally and you should be fine. I learned a lot from the Craftsy online class, ‘Sewing with Knits’ so if you think you might want to try more knit projects, you could take a look. Here is my class review – https://so-sew-easy.com/craftsy-sewing-with-knits/
Thanks for your quick response! I have taken several of the Craftsy classes (love them!) but have not yet purchased sewing with knits. I thought I’d need a serger so I didn’t bother. Am running there now to buy that class – I’m going to put off making this super dress until I go through the Craftsy tutorial. Thanks for the tips! 😀
Hi Deby,
I cut out your wrap dress pattern but am waiting to cut the fabric as I have one question and am slightly confused. As the skirt is not wrap, how do you get in and out of the garment with a fixed, stitched in waistline without a zipper? I can’t see how I could get the skirt either over my bust or up over my hips without breaking the waist stitching…The dress looks perfect on you and I love your choice of fabric. I have bought a patterned stretch cotton. How do you get in and out of your dress??!
Sharne
Australia
Hi Sharne, I think you might have the wrong fabric! This dress needs to be made from a knit fabric, one that has plenty of stretch like a t-shirt. If you have a stretch cotton, this is not going to work. A stretch cotton doesn’t really stretch at all, it has just a little bit of lycra to help the fabric recover from stretching which gives is a little ‘give’ but not enough stretch that you will be able to get the waist over your bust or hips. You would also find the dress to be too tight in a stretch cotton, because it doesn’t have much ease, which is fine in a knit, but not in a fixed fabric. So sorry for the misunderstanding. I hope you will be able to add a zipper or have enough fabric to make another skirt panel and turn it into a true wrap dress.
Thank you sooooo much Deby I have been looking for this everywhere. I cannot wait to get started this weekend!!!!!
Hi Deby, wow!
I just came back from holiday and what do I find here? This dress is awesome. I like the fabric and the colours very much, the pleats are lovely. I wish I had the opportunity to wear it this summer, unfortunately my summer is over now. Nevertheless it will be a great project for dreaming of the next 😉
Thank you very, very, very much for sharing this.
Greetings from Germany,
Jessica
And thank you very, very much for leaving such a lovely comment. Luckily where I live, it’s like summer all the time, so summer dresses, shorts and t-shirts are for everyday. A coat – what’s that for?
Hi Deby! What a great pattern. I love this style of dress. I love the fabric too. Thanks so much for linking up to Thriving on Thursdays. I’m featuring this at tomorrow’s party. Anne xx
I wish my sewing skills were better. I love the wrap dress style Dione Von Firstenburg made this dress a must have piece for all of us. Yours is lovely! Thank you for joining in the fun at the Thursday Favorite Things hop xo
I’ve always wanted to make a wrap dress and now I have the incentive to make it! Thanks for the free pattern!
Your blog is amazing. Thank you for sharing your expertise and enthusiasm for sewing. I just featured a wrap dress refashion on my blog so we both have “wrap dress” on the brain. Have a great day.
Wow! You’re amazing seamstress! That print is just perfect for that dress. Love it all around!!!
New follower from the Showcase Your Talent Thrusday hop. This is a very nice dress and I love the fabric choice. If only I could sew!!! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for linking to Take-A-Look Tuesday over at Sugar Bee Crafts – you were featured today!
–Mandy, SugarBeeCrafts.com
Cute dress! I’m not much into sewing, but this dress is really cute. Pinning for later. Great tutorial! Thank you for sharing!
This is WAY cute! Thanks for sharing!
The dress is gorgeous! I love the print you used.:)
Love your blog and look forward to each edition. Been saving your tutorials and buying patterns and fabric. This is a great dress. Looking forward to adding it to my wardrobe. I will be watching for your patterns on Craftsy. Thanks for inspiring me to start sewing again. Cheers!
Debi,
Stunning as always ! I the perfect fabric to make this dress! I have a question about he black fabric I bought from you a while back….. Did you line or wear a slip under it? Also, LOVE your new endeavor with selling your patterns! Can you sell the kits on Craftsy? If so I’ll buy the kit there as I WANT that animal print one!! If not let me know and I’ll grab it rom Etsy!
Thanks! From Texas !
Lisa
Yes for that black fabric, I added a plain black spandex lining just to the top section, using it to make a casing for the waist of the skirt on the inside and letting it hang down to mid-thigh just above the horizontal stripes. It makes it hang nicer and be less clingy as well as provide some modesty!
About the new kits – I can only sell the patterns on Craftsy, the supplies they sell are their own. So you can only get the Boxy Bag kits on Etsy. Thanks for asking. Deb
Beautiful dress! Thanks for sharing!
Have a wonderful weekend!
Hugs and love from Portugal,
Ana Love Craft
Great looking dress. I’m still looking for a v-necked pattern for the fabric I fell in love with – but it’s not stretchy, so I’ll have to tuck this one away for another time.
Sheree
A stunning and very flattering dress, Deby!!! Love the pleats on the bodice… a lovely feature.
I’ve featured your dress and pattern today, Deby…
Thanks very much Pam – you are always so kind in sharing my work. I really appreciate it. I’ll drop over now to say Hi.
I always love reading your posts. Although I’ve been sewing for a very long time, it’s always nice to read how detailed you are and how you achieve the looks you do. I find I’ve learned a lot from you! Now, if only I could look as good as you in what you make!
Awesome. And it has sleeves! Yes Yes Yes. So many patterns now are to make quick and easy with those silly sleeves or no sleeves at all. We women need sleeves (at least this woman does).
Thank you, I can’t wait to get started on it!
Oh, this is terrific! I am going to pin this for next summer, when I am no longer pregnant. Thanks for the pattern AND the picture tutorial. I’m a visual learner, so the pictures really help! Stopping by from the Pin Junkie’s link up.
This looks kind of intimidating, but yet kind of fun! Thanks for sharing at From The Farm Linky party! I will pin for when I feel I can take on the world! 😉 ~ MamaGing
Very pretty dress. I love the pattern. And such a detailed tutorial too.
Love it…..so detailed! I may have to try this!
This is so cute! Thanks for sharing. I’m going to save it for future after I lose weight and it’ll look nicer on me.
Really cute dress! Looks great on you. Thanks for sharing the pattern and the detailed instructions.
I’m so excited 🙂 I’ve been waiting for this pattern to come out and have been checking your blog for it regularly. I will definitely send you photos once I make it and I think this would be a great dress for me to review on my new blog http://www.ScarletThreader.com. Thanks for being so generous with your talent!
Hi Dawn, Just dropped over to your site to take a look – wow, it looks sumptuous. Love that background. If you ever do make up any of my patterns or projects, just let me know and I’ll be happy to link to your blog post.