Everyone wants to look exquisite for prom. It’s a night many high school seniors are looking forward to all year long; and when it finally comes, you need an outfit to match the anticipation. Cue Mood’s newest free sewing pattern: The Iris Ensemble. Featuring a long sleeve body suit and an extra full high-low skirt, The Iris is perfect for those who love to stand out. Follow our lead with a foil knit and brocade combination or throw in some beaded lace or sequins for some extra shine!
Fabrics & materials used:
- 1.5 yards Metallic Silver Textured All-Over Foil Knit
- 7 yards Coral and White Striped Floral Brocade
- Dritz Size 3/0 Nickel Sew On Snaps
- Off-White 9″ Invisible Zipper
- Black Gutermann Thread
- Burgundy Gutermann Thread
- MDF030 – The Iris Ensemble Sewing Pattern (free download below!)
All seam allowances are 1/2″ unless otherwise stated.
The bodysuit is fairly similar to our Felicia Sweater pattern and luckily goes together almost as easily.
A simple zig-zag stitch is perfectly fine if, like myself, you don’t have a serger. However, I do recommend using French seams for this project. This fluid-like knit doesn’t fray, but hiding the seam allowance does give a garment a slightly more finished look.
Begin by attaching the front and back of your bodysuit at the shoulders.
Next, stitch the back seam of your collar (the one opposite the fold on the pattern piece). Once sewn, fold the entire thing in half along the length, hiding the back seam inside. Attach the collar to the neckline of the suit, matching up the respective notches.
Sew the sleeves onto your suit, matching the center notch with the shoulder seam. Then, sew up the sides of the bodysuit as well as the inseam of the sleeves.
The bottom of the bodysuit gets finished with a rolled hem, with elastic rolled up inside of it. While pinning, stretch the elastic just slightly like you see above.
Add three snaps to the crotch of the suit and it’s ready to be worn!
To start on the skirt, pin and sew the pocket panel to the front and back panels of the skirt, like you see above. Sew the wrong sides together first, trim, and sew right sides together second like you see below to create clean French seams.
From the bottom of the pockets, sew down the remainder of the skirt sides.
Attached one edge of your waistband along the top of the skirt before inserting and invisible zipper at the back of the skirt. Be sure to place the zipper halfway down the band so your can fold the band in half inward and slip-stitch.
Lastly, finish off your skirt with a rolled hem and you’re ready for the prom, a gala, or even the red carpet!
I love the room for personal style that comes with this pattern. There are so many ways you can go with this design that could completely change the final look and feel of the outfit. What fabric combinations have you been tossing around in your head? I’d love to hear about them in the comments!
76 comments
This is gorgeous!!! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Thank you for reading!! 🙂
This is gorgeous. I suggest you make the skirt or convert to a dress using African fabrics.
I bet that would look stunning!!
Denise, I was thinking that exact thing myself!!! #GeniusMinds
Muy bonito
Yes! I will be using African prints for this style! Thanks!
Love the fabric and skirt! Beautifully written article. The model makes the skirt/outfit fun!
Thank you so much!! 🙂
I would make this and find somewhere to wear it.
Hello,
Problem with the pattern: I got the caladium trench instead of the Iris Ensemble…
Can you fix it please?
Thank you for your patterns!
Hello! I just resent the file to you – please let me know if it sends the incorrect one again!
Perfect I have the right one…
Plan to sew a skirt fort spring and summer… Or maybe transform it into a dress!
Thank you!
I’m in love – lucky to have two daughters!
Such memories, my prom dress (a million years ago…OK 1985) was a strapless gold brocade number sewn by my mom. Brocade for prom is brilliant!
This is absolutely gorgeous!
Nice to see a modest pro dress!
Thank you!
Beautiful! just the kind of skirt I’m looking for.
I love this skirt! I want to make it without the high low. Any suggestion on how much fabric to get for it to be the length of the front all around?
Hi there! You’d probably be good with 5 yards or so. It’s essentially two full circle skirts sewn together, so you’d need (the length of your skirt x 4) + (your waist radius x 4). If you’re not sure how to find your waist radius, you can use Mood’s Circle Skirt Calculator!
Hello, Ms Norris, I downloaded this beautiful skirt and stated putting it together and ran into trouble with #9 not sure how it fits. Can you help?
Hi Thelma – I’d love to help, but I’m not sure what you mean! Are you referring to not knowing where page #9 fits in? If so, there’s a layout guide on the first page of the pattern download that shows you how each page fits together. 🙂
Muy bonito
Looks fun! I have a daughter and two nieces to sew for that could where this, however if you were a real life angel, you could send this to me in my 8 yr old granddaughters size 12 ( in Justice clothes)
This dress is beautiful
Thank you so much!
I’m so freaking excited to make the skirt. Love bodysuits … but on other people ☺️. I’m marking the skirt with a light blue cotton lace on top and a grey cotton lawn as a second layer! Eeeeeee I’m so excited!!!
Ooooh, that sounds so lovely and perfect for spring!!
Thanks for sharing!!
Hi, can I do the bodysuit with a non-stretch fabric?
Hi Carmen, this bodysuit is on the looser side, so you may be able to get away with it as long as you make a keyhole opening at the back big enough for your head to fit through. I’d recommend trying it with muslin first though to test the fit!
Gorgeous and pockets — planning on doing this in black with a different top- needed that train. . .
Lovely, functional and stylish! Excited to try this pattern. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you!!
This is such a gorgeous skirt, do you think this fabric would work. https://www.moodfabrics.com/digitally-printed-seashell-pink-roses-on-a-stretch-mercerized-cotton-woven-310716
Hi! It would be a little less voluminous than a brocade, but it would still make a stunning skirt. You could also put a petticoat beneath it if you wanted to keep the volume!
This is amazing! Thank you for sharing. I am interested in making the skirt. Is there any way to tell what pages are for the skirt pattern only. I hate to waste all the extra paper. Thank you!
Yes, the first page of the file is the pattern layout, so you can see where the skirt is. 🙂
Hello!
Thank you for this pattern it’s amazing! Love the skirt! Although O’m not sire to understand how many circles I’m supposed to cut out.
Is it one symmetric and one asymmetric?
I plan to do the skirt with a grey and blue wax fabric. It’s going to be wonderful!!
Thanks again!
Good morning! You should be cutting 2 circles – the smaller one is the front of your skirt, and the larger is the back. 🙂
Absolutely love this skirt! I made the caladium trench for my daughter and wth the extra fabric made a cape coat for my granddaughter for a “mommy & me” look. I would love to make a “mommy & me” with this skirt but a lighter weight fabric for beach photos. Any suggestions? My granddaughter is 14 months old, so something that would be great for bare feet Portraits, yet classy and appropriate for both mom and baby. Thanks! I’ll send you images of the girls in their coats soon.
Does the 7 yards for the skirt cover all of the sizes or just what was used for the model’s skirt? I want to make this for a formal christmas party next month.
Hey, Anna! We made a larger Redux of this skirt here and used 8 yards. It gets a little tricky with sizes over 18 because of the fabric width. You may just need to shorten the front by an inch or two like Molly did with her Redux. 🙂
Soooooo excited to use this pattern, with the BLACK LUXURY ABSTRACT METALLIC BROCADE!! For a size 4, do you think I will need the full 7 yards of brocade or do you think I could get away with less? I am approx. 5’1”.
Hi there! It looks like you’re about the same exact size as our model, so you’d definitely need 7 yards. Enjoy!
I am going to make this for a wedding. I am using a black body peice that has lace all over it and is sleeveless. The skirt I am using a nice heavy silk that is red and is embroidered with gold. I am also using horsehair ribbon to help the edges out for more volume if I need anyway. I would post a picture but I can’t lol.
That sounds lovely! If you have an Instagram, tag @moodfabrics or #madewithmood and we’ll see it! 🙂
Hello Courtney! I am about to do this beautiful skirt. The pattern says to cut 2 back skirts and 1 in fold of the front skirt. These 2 “extra” pieces are used as lining, or are they all sewn together and be a all piece in the end? Sorry, I am a bit confused. Thanks for the pattern!
Hi, Ana! The Skirt Front is the smaller semi-circle pattern piece that gets cut on the fold. The Skirt Back is the larger piece – you cut 2 of them and they form a center back seam/zipper.
Hi! I really hope you see this; with the smaller skirt piece it says to cut on the fold. This may sound ridiculous, but is it just that side on the fold, or the whole thing? Because then I’d get a circle and…that wouldnt make sense on the attachment lol. See where I’m coming from? So I assume one side is meant to be open so it can be attached to the pocket, but I could be wrong and I’m trying really hard not to mess this up for graduation.
H Gabby – not a ridiculous question at all! You’re totally right – it’s just that one side that needs to be on the fold, and the other side gets cut to create the side seams of the skirt. Let me know if you have any other questions, and happy sewing!
I just made this skirt in a neoprene mesh and it looks fabulous. A reminder for those making it: watch the width of your fabric so that it can accommodate the front panel, which is cut on the fold. I came up a little short with a 58″ wide fabric, so i cut it in two pieces and slightly off grain (so my skirt has a center front seam now). Another option would have been to shorten it in the front and side-front bit, but I opted to keep the length. If you want to cut it in one piece on the fold, you definitely need the 62″ width that the pattern recommends. Anyway, just an observation for the next person. It’s a gorgeous pattern and I will likely make it again!! Thank you Courtney!
How would the wearer get in and out of the bodysuit? are the snaps the entry point for this? If I wanted to say use it as a swimsuit would I mke an adjustment with a front or back zipper at the top for ease of entry? thank you!!!
Hi there! I used snap tape at the bottom.
I was wondering if there were any other types of fabric that you could use to make this, yet still have that gorgeous effect. I am a book lover, and was wondering if there are any fabrics that resemble the pages of a book? I would love to make this skirt in that fabric.
Wow, this is such an interesting question! Hmm… the first thing I thought of was our pleated fabrics. They don’t quite have the same volume, so you may want to make an under-layer of sorts with a satin or something, but overlaying it with something pleated could be really cool! For reference, this is what one of the pleated chiffon fabrics looks like as pants.
I was thinking more along the lines of a discolored fabric with and olden style wording. Like the pages of an open book.
Ahhh, I see! Unfortunately we don’t have too much along those lines, but this silk georgette from Milly comes to mind!
is the seam allowance included in the pattern?
Yes 1/2″ seam allowance is already included. 🙂
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this pattern! After struggling to find a design that fit a non-conventional bride-to-be’s vision of her wedding attire (and with just two weeks until the day of the wedding!), I stumbled upon the Iris, which ticked all the boxes: high-low design (to showcase her hiking boots), unfussy yet dramatic, graceful, full and flowing with just a bit of a train…everything on her wish list! As soon as I saw the pattern, I knew it was the one – in fact, I was so certain it was perfect for her that I made the skirt in the fabric she had chosen (a huckleberry purple satin with a shimmery sheer purple overlay) that very day, without showing her the pattern first…a risky move that paid off – she LOVES it and will be wearing her fairytale skirt as she hikes up a mountain to be wed at sunset. The pattern itself was very easy to follow; as noted in other posts, adjustments had to be made to accommodate for fabric widths narrower than what was needed for the size of the skirt I was making, but they were easily made and did not affect the overall look of the skirt. As a bonus, there was enough fabric left over to sew a matching tie for the groom! Thank you for helping to make one bride’s vision a reality!
Hey, I just downloaded the pattern “The Iris Ensemble” but I instead got the pattern for “The iris Gown”. Can you please send me the right pattern? Thank you in advance!!
Hi Naomi! That is the correct pattern. 🙂
yeah, im really sorry i realized a few moments after! The name got me a bit confuzed! But I really love your work!!!!!!!!
Okay, so, hear me out. im making a bustier top (I made the pattern myself) in black. and the skirt in bright red. Im going to use another pattern of yours, the Valeriana pattern. and use three pattern pieces of it. (The border it has up top) and im going to sew red roses on it going of to the skirt, where they are goibng to change colors to black. and go of the side all the way to the end of the skirt! im so excited!! I really hope it turn out well!!!!
Wow, that sounds gorgeous!! I hope to see it when it’s done! 🙂
Hi,
I’m thinking about making the skirt with a 42″ cotton broadcloth for a costume. How will this effect the yardage needed or the pattern in general?
Thanks!
Hi Sharmeen, unfortunately I don’t think there’s a way to fit this skirt on a 42″ piece of fabric since it’s so full.
Hi! Could you explain the pockets a little more? How do i attach the pockets to the smaller circle if it is a full circle? I just need a little more detail. Thank you!!
Hi Londyn! Only the shorter edge of the front circle is on the fold – the other edge gets cut to become the side seams. 🙂
Hello! I was wondering if you could give any advice on lengthening the train. I do have access to some 120″ fabrics. Also would fabric that wide chnage the yardage requirements? Also how would taffeta or stretch tafetta work for it?
Hi Sabrina! It’s a bit tricky to explain via text so I’ll email you a diagram of how I’d go about lengthening it.
Son increíbles!! Les mando muchos besos desde Argentina!! gracias por darnos tantas ideas!!!!
Hello! The skirt looks amazing and I’m very excited to give it a go. I noticed in the comments some people indicated that the fabric needs to be 62 inches, but a lot of the brocade fabrics are only 55 inches wide (including this one which I would really like to use as the skirt for my wedding dress: https://www.moodfabrics.com/metallic-silver-and-gray-violet-abstract-luxury-organza-brocade-130666?qty=1). Is there any way of adjusting to get around that?
Thanks so much!
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