Sew Easy Sleeveless Loungewear - Sewing Pattern & Tutorial - SewGuide (original) (raw)

lounge wear sewing tutorial

When it is summer at our place, the heat gets to you so much that it makes you burn inside-out, and you forget all your good intentions of eco-friendly living and the family budget and put on the A/C at full blast all day and night.

On the clothing side, I usually make some simple night dresses in this pattern for the times when I am out of the purview of the A/C. I even go a little bolder sometimes and make a loose loungewear with simple straps. Here is the pattern and sewing tutorial.

Related post : Best fabric to wear in summer.

Sewing tutorial for the loungewear dress

Step 1. Cut out the Bodice pieces

If you are an absolute beginner in sewing check out this post on measuring yourself. Measure your bust round – that is all you need for this top.

Take two fabric pieces – 40 inches long and atleast 36 inches wide.

Fold them by the middle and mark as in the picture below.

(If you only have a fabric which is 36 inches wide, you can take H-F as 18 inches- which is the maximum width you can get. The width of the fabric you have decides the flare you get)

A-B is the folded side.

cut out the bodice for the front and back

(2 1/2 extra given is for the pleat in the middle)

H-F is taken as double of J-E. But if you have a narrow width fabric you may not get enough for this. In this case take the full width of your fabric. Eg. if you have 36 inch wide fabric take H-F as 18″.

Step 2. Cut out and make the strap pieces

Cut straps 11 1/2 inch long and 2 1/2 -3 inch wide (depending on the width of strap you want).

Cut this fabric on the bias. 2 1/2 inch wide fabric will make you a 1 inch wide strap, which is good enough.

easy loungewear

Fold by the middle and then fold the two edges to the inside.Press and then stitch in place for your strap.

If you think this is a too wide strap and you want thinner, check out this post on tips to sew thin tubes. Or you can make these straps like in this post on making bag handles.

Make the central pleat

Find the middle of the bodice top edge. Fold the bodice by this middle, right sides to the inside. If you have a printed fabric, ensure that it is aligned symmetrically.

mark the middle of the bodice top edge

From the middle fold mark the extra you have added for the pleat. I have added 2.5″ So I sew this 2.5 inches, 8 inches from the top edge- the red line in the picture below.

fold 2.5 to 3 inch and stitch for 8 inches from the top

Now fold this extra fabric into an inverted pleat, at the back.

open up the folded fabric and make it look like an inverted pleat

Stitch this pleat in place.(Below pic is how the back of your fabric looks after you have sewn the inverted pleat)

sew the top edge to fix the inverted pleat in place - this is how it looks on the back

It will look like this from the front – The extra fabric is stitched as a pleat and forms room enough at the bottom part of the dress.

the inverted pleat of the loungewear looks like this from the front

It will look like this, when everything is done.

the inverted pleat looks neat from the front

Bind the armhole

Cut out bias fabric pieces to bind the armhole. Do so for all 4 armholes.

bind the armhole

If you do not know how to bind fabric edges with bias tape – follow these tutorials – How to bind edge with bias tape, How to bind neckline with bias tape.

neatly stitch the binding in place

Step 3. Join the strap to the front bodice

Cut out 2, 1 1/2 inch wide fabric pieces for facing the top edges of the two bodices – for length of these pieces measure the top edge.

prepare the top straps and also facing for the top edge

Keep the strap pieces inside the binding piece and the bodice piece. Stitch the top edge.

Cut out the side in shape for the armline – the red line in the picture below. Remember to leave atleast 1/4 inch at the sides to fold to the inside.

keep the straps face down on the top bodice and keep facing on top so that the straps are sandwiched inside

Turn the binding to the back and hand sew in place.

on the back sew the facing in place

Step 4. Join the strap to the back bodice

Keep the other side of the straps to the back bodice.

on the other side, attach the straps in this way

Sandwich this with the other binding piece.(The back bodice is kept right side up. The front bodice is kept backside up on top). Stitch in place.

keep the facing on top

Turn to the back and Hand sew in place.

Step 5. Join the side seams and Hem the dress

Join the sides and sew the hem.

You have to make a narrow hem, because of the curve at the hem. Check out these posts on narrow hems – How to use a hemmer foot for a rolled hem, How to sew curved hems the right way.