When the sun is beating down and humidity is at an all-time high, it can be hard to find that go-to outfit that will keep you looking chic and feeling cool. Luckily, Mood’s latest free pattern, the Rosalie Shirt Dress, is the perfect basic shirtdress for summer. Going to work? The Rosalie. Going to the zoo? The Rosalie. Sleeping? Okay, maybe not the Rosalie, but you get the picture. It’s a gorgeous, simple design that pairs well with a variety of staple summer fabrics, including linen, chambray, or poplin. Plus, it’s an ideal pattern for beginners to sharpen their sewing skills and produce something that you’ll wear over and over. Now, let’s find out how to make this shirt dress so you can get out there and live your best summer life!
Purchase Materials Used Below:
- 4 yards of Minerva Heathered Blue Heron Lightweight Linen Chambray
- 0.5 yards of Heathered Black Warp Knitting Fusible Interfacing
- 12 Lily White and Winter White Swirl 4-Hole Plastic Shirt Buttons
- 1 spool of 227 Dusted Baby Blue 500m Gutermann Sew All Thread
- MDF312– The Rosalie Shirt Dress Free Sewing Pattern (free download below!)
Alternative Recommended Fabrics:
Cut out all pattern pieces from your fashion fabric. Once you have all your pattern pieces cut, we will focus on the preparation.
We will cut fusible for the under collar, 1 collarstand, 2 placket, and 2 belt pieces.
When cutting the fusible, cut using the original pattern. Once cut, cut again around the seam allowance, trimming between ⅜ – ½”. By doing this, you will allow the fabric to retain its original stretch, particularly useful when sewing curves. This will avoid any extra weight or bulk around the seam allowance, as well as helping the feed dog on your sewing machine to feed a piece that is fused and not fused. In this case, a collar is a good example, as you will see below.
While the iron is still hot from fusing your pattern pieces, take advantage and press the hem of the sleeve, following your notches.
Now, the sewing can begin. Join the under collars together and press. Since our undercollar was cut on the bias, we will place the top collar on top and allow your machine’s feeder to feed the undercollar. This will allow both collars to be sewn evenly.
Before turning over the collar, we will sew a top stitch of ⅛ on the undercollar side. While sewing, make sure the top and bottom seam allowances are facing the undercollar side. This will ensure your seam allowance faces slightly towards the back when you are pressing. I begin that stitch 2” away from the corners, as seen below.
Turn over the collar and make sure to clip your corners for a sharper point. Optional: Sew an edge stitch around the whole collar for stitching detail.
Sew a basting stitch at the bottom where we will be joining collar stand and collar.
Sew collar stand and collar together. Place the collar stand without fusible on the bottom for easier sewing. Then, place the collar and the fused collar stand on top. Sew 3/8″, only sewing the area where they will be joining.
On the collar stand that will be seen inside of your garment, iron a ⅜” hem. This step will help when closing the collar stand on the inside of the garment. Optional: If you have trouble with ironing, sew a basting stitch as a guide.
Sew front darts.
Iron darts towards the hem.
Sew placket to the front at 3/8″.
Iron seams towards the center of the placket. On the other side of the placket, iron ⅜” towards the center of the placket. This step will help close your center front.
Iron center front.
Sew an edge stitch at the seam where front and placket meet.
Sew an edge stitch or overlock the hemline of the sleeve, leaving 1.5-2” unsewn on both ends. This will help when closing the sleeve.
Sew center back together, ironing all seam allowances towards one side.
Sew front and back shoulder seams.
Optional: Sew an edge stitch on the seam allowances for stitch details.
Sew collar stand to the neckline.
If possible, iron seams into the collar stand. Using a sleeve board will make this step easier. Pin the other side of the collar stand, so that we may close the collar stand, Make sure your edges are slightly covering the stitches.
On the right side of the garment, sew an edge stitch all around. Since we pinned the collar stands on the wrong side of the garment, all stitches will match.
Sew pockets onto the garment, and overlock the side seams.
Sew sleeve sides, closing the opening left previously.
Sew sleeve to the garment.
Sew a ⅜” rolled hem at the bottom of the garment. You may do anywhere between a ⅜- 1.5” rolled hem, depending on your measurements. You can also serge the edge and hem a ⅜-¾ hem, but a rolled hem at ⅜ provides ease when sewing. Most importantly, make sure the dress is at the desired length before stitching.
At the center of the collar stand mark and sew button hole horizontally.
Mark from the edge of the collar stand down 1.75” to begin your first button hole on the placket.
After your first mark, mark each one 3” away.
For this garment, 11 buttons holes were placed on the placket, and one on the collar.
Sew seam allowances for the sash/fabric belt, at ⅜ “. Remember to leave a 2” opening to flip inside out. Optional: Edge stitch for detail.
54 comments
Oh, thank you for the free pattern! I have been scouring the internet for a GOOD shirt dress pattern and this one is not only GOOD, but it’s perfect! Thank you!!!
Hey, I was wondering how long is the skirt? (Preferably in cm but inches works too)
I want to know if I need to get more fabric to make it longer.
Thanks!
Hi Yuval, this skirt is approximately 63-66cm depending on the size. 🙂
The download pattern is wrong, it’s for a romper! Please correct as I’d love to make this dress.
Hi Robert! Sorry about that, the download should be correct now. 😀
Many years ago, I made a shirtwaist dress in silk broadcloth with elbow length sleeves. It was very beautiful and
useful. I wore it to death.
Where can I find a more accurate info on how much fabric this will take? I have a feeling it will not really take 4 yards and surely not every size takes the same amount? Thank you.
Hi Birte! You can check out the ‘Shop This Look’ widget for more accurate yardage information based on size range. 😀
I just cut a size 8 from 44″w x 3.5 yd piece of fabric, and I had a bit to spare. 3yd might do for a wider fabric.
On the printable pattern, it doesn’t say to cut fusing for the front plackets. Only saw this in the description. However, looking forward to sewing my mock-up on this dress today!
If I wanted to use two colors for a split should i get 2 yards of each color?
Hi Verina! Yes, I think 2-3 yards per color, depending on your preferred size, would work nicely. 😀
I just got done with this one in a searsucker an it was beautiful hands down not as hard as thought it was going to be loved it an so did everyone else
Thank you for this summer dress, I loved everything about this dress, including the linen color. It sewed up beautifully for my plus size figure, I did a FBA, but it needed no other adjustments. It’s a great summer dress.
I can not download this? I van only download and subscribe for 1 pattern. How can I get the other patterns??
Hi Chantal, use our download form on each pattern page to receive an email with a link to download. However, if for some reason you aren’t receiving them, email info@moodfabrics.com and they’ll send over the patterns of your choice! 🙂
Can I use part of this pattern ?
Can I alter the design ?
I want to use top half of the pattern ( excluding few things )
Is it okay for me to do so ?
Or would it be rude for the designer ?
Hi Abida! You are more than welcome to do that. Lots of Mood Sewciety members use these patterns as a jumping off point to create more customized looks! 🙂
Thank you so much !
Hi there! Just wondering if this pattern is do-able by a pretty much absolute beginner (I need to create a costume design for a character in a play and this looks perfect). I know my way around a sewing machine, but beyond that I’m not sure. Would really appreciate some feedback, thank you!!
Hi Eve, we’re sorry that your comment slipped through the cracks! We are now focusing on user support for patterns 2 years and newer to ensure this doesn’t happen as often.
Just in case this question pops up in the future, we wanted to go ahead and answer it. This is an intermediate pattern, due to the pockets, collar, and buttons.
“Before turning over the collar, we will sew a top stitch of ⅛ on the undercollar side. While sewing, make sure the top and bottom seam allowances are facing the undercollar side. This will ensure your seam allowance faces slightly towards the back when you are pressing. I begin that stitch 2” away from the corners, as seen below.”
I understand nothing in this step and i also don’t see below. What do you mean?
Hi Birte, we are sorry for the late reply, but we wanted to answer in case anyone had a similar question.
From what we can gather, the author chose to understitch the collar to the undercollar. This is optional and we will revise this step for clarity.
Hi! Are there more detailed instructions to this pattern?
I’m unclear on the placket- is the inside just raw fusing? Wouldn’t it be better to have a wide enough strip to fold it over to encase the fusing?
Hi Loraine, we’re sorry for the delay in responding to your question! We get dozens of comments and questions each day, and so many questions get buried and, unfortunately, unanswered. We are now focusing user support on patterns 2 years and newer. We hope this will prevent questions on our more current patterns from going unanswered. Although this is late, we wanted to respond in case anyone else has the same question:
Sew a placket on the CF edge of a front dress piece, with the placket’s right side facing the dress’s wrong side. Press the placket to the front of the dress, then press the seam allowance on the placket’s remaining edge under. Sew the folded edge to the dress. Repeat with the other side.
Hi, the belt tie has an additional allowance for if you want to cut it without the fold, but the collar and collar stand don’t have these. Should an additional allowance be added if not cutting on the fold?? It’s not clear from the pattern.
Hi Raquel! I don’t recommend turning the collar and collar stand pieces into 2 halves, unless you’re wanting that detail to be a focal point or a style element. However, if you choose to, then add the seam allowance of your choice onto the straight edge where you’d usually cut on the fold. You’re going to want the notches to still match up, so be extra mindful of sewing directly on that seam allowance so the pieces remain the same size as the original pattern. 🙂
Hi Elisabeth, thanks so much for your response. I think maybe the pattern pack need some revising then because the instruction imply you can cut both the collar and collar stand as 2 pieces OR 1 folded piece. In fact in the image above I think you can see that the collar is 2 pieces sewn together, although they did do the collar stand by folding it.
A – COLLAR
FABRIC: CUT 2
FUSING: CUT 1 OR 2
ON FOLD
B – COLLAR STAND
FABRIC: CUT 2
FUSING: CUT 1 OR 2
ON FOLD
It also doesn’t specify that you need fusing for the front placket, or the belt, which are listed in the instruction above.
Can you also clarify… For the fusing, am I adding it to one face of each item, or both?
This is what I have understood from the instructions:
Collar – only 1 size
collar stand – only 1 size
placket – both sides
belt – both sides
Sorry if these are silly questions, it’s my first time doing something with a pattern aside from a pillow case!
No worries! I can totally see how this would be confusing. Since the fold lines are already clearly marked on the pattern pieces, I’m interpreting A & B as saying “Fabric: cut 2 (on fold), Fusing: Cut 1 or 2 (on fold)”. The option for fusing is really up to you. It depends on the stiffness of the fusing you’re using. For a collar and other lining pieces, I usually just opt for 1 layer if I’m sewing with a light-medium weight fabric. For a belt, which would need some more structure, I would add two layers!
I see that too…I’m not sure why they sewed the collar from 4 pieces instead of 2. I should note that the finalized collar and stand piece do NOT have the included seam allowance for that to be an option. We sew a lot of these garments using a beta pattern, which will sometimes have a few small and usually undetectable adjustments made before we finalize everything for grading. I think that was probably the case here, and I’m sorry for any confusion!
Hi! I’m quite confused about which measurement I should follow. Can I refer to the Finished garment measurement alone or should I follow them both instead? However, I am unsure how to combine the 2 measurement guides you gave. Hoping that you could help me with this since I really wanted to do this pattern 🙂 thank you in advance
Hi Bella, you can choose your size based on the finished garment measurements. Just be sure to leave some ease for movement!
Does this dress have pockets?
Hi Adelaide, this dress indeed has pockets!
I’m leaving a comment as I believe it should help other beginner sewers trying this pattern. I find the instructions to be lacking and more geared towards those who are more advanced. I found it frustrating to follow as I had to search up other sources to figure out what was meant in the instructions here. I also agree with some of the previous comments about the print-out pattern instructions not matching the step-by-step instructions in terms of number of pieces, seam allowances, etc. I think it’s a really nice dress but can totally see some who are attempting it the first time giving up due to the poor explanations.
Hi Nina, very late to the party, but can you advise what other sources you found to assist. i love that the patterns on the website, however the instructions a very poor. in another project i was lucky that someone had filmed the step-by-step instructions for Youtube, which was much easier to follow.
please give me the patterm , i need
Hi Trang, the download subscription form seems to be working on our end. If you’re still having difficulty, email info@moodfabrics.com
Hi! the 4 yards of fabric is for what size?
Hi Blanca, it’s for a size 10. We do tend to err on the side of caution though, to account for mistakes and directional prints. You can also use the page dimensions to do a quick calculation of the yardage you’d need.
Can this a4 pattern be converted to a A0 print shop file?
Hi Alicia, unfortunately in order to keep our patterns free, our patterns cannot be converted to a A0 print shop file.
hello i have a light pinwale corduroy. could i use this material for this dress? thank you. dawn
Yes, that should work fine for this dress
Do not make this dress if you are a beginner! These instructions are lacking a lot of steps. I’m a little disappointed because it is a beautiful dress. I found I had to rely on experience. Also the pockets are not in the right order. They should be sewn before the dress is sewn to the back. It makes it much easier to handle on the sewing machine plus I can sew the seam in one pass.
Thank you for this!! This is super nice.
Hi ! I have a little problem, I cut the fabric following the pattern, but when I try to sew the collar with the neckline, the collar is much smaller than the neckline (~ 2 inches). Can you help me to fix this problem ?
Thank youuu (sorry for my English I’m French)
Hello Lilia, we apologize that you are running into this problem. You can try adding 1″ to the side of the collar cut on fold, which will accommodate for 2 inches after it is cut on the fold. Another option we suggest is to try with a bigger size for the collar pattern.
I agree I had the same problem. Other than that this pattern is amazing and fits so well.
I’m a beginner (this is my second project, my first was the milkmaid dress) And this pattern came out so good! I learned a lot with doing a collar for the first time and I’ve nailed making button holes on my very old hand me down sewing machine lol. I really appreciate these free patterns and that you give finished garment sizes! I needed to size down 2 sizes to get the fit I wanted.
Hello Christina, We appreciate your feedback and hope that you continue to enjoy our free sewing patterns!
Hey, so I created a more detailed tutorial for the placket, in particular as it relates to finishing the bottom! Hope this helps!
https://comedyoferrors.readywriting.org/tutorial/rosalie-shirt-dress-take-4-now-with-a-tutorial/
This was incredibly helpful, thank you!!
Amazing dress really happy with the result, as a beginner I found some of the instructions and pictures difficult and couldn’t find a tutorial online in English, ended up using a YouTube tutorial to make the collar which was really clear and easy to go along with and another video for the button holes the rest of the dress was easy.Really like how this pattern includes the seam allowance as well. Really happy and will definitely have to make this dress again in different material patterns