Whether you’re strolling the beach in San Tropez, toasting at a wedding, or just chilling at brunch with friends, this feminine, flirty, and versatile pattern is the perfect addition to your summer wardrobe! The Ulmus Dress can be made up out of almost any fabric and looks fabulous for both day and night, depending on how you style it. A solid silk charmeuse will give it a more elegant look, or you can stick with a linen or beautifully printed cotton sateen like we did for a more Resort feel. The ruffled sleeves and skirt of this dress lend themselves well to the possibility of using contrasting fabrics. No matter what you choose to make it with, this dress is sure to make hearts flutter!
Fabric and Materials Used:
- 4 yards of Mood Exclusive Maharudra Shiva’s Determination Stretch Cotton Sateen
- 1 spool of 850 Bright Sunshine 250m Gutermann Sew All Thread
- 1 131 Buttercup Invisible Zipper – 24″
- 1 package Dritz Size 1 Nickel Hook & Eyes
- 1 yard Black Single-Faced Woven Fusible Interfacing
- MDF065 – Ulmus Dress Sewing Pattern (Free download below)
All seam allowances are 1/2″ unless otherwise stated. See chart below for sizing specifications. Note, this specific pattern is available up to a size 30.
Step 1
Start by cutting out all of your pattern pieces according to their instructions and being sure to mark any notches and dart placements on each piece when necessary.
Step 2
Next, close all of the darts on the torso and bust pieces making sure to follow your guide marks.
Step 3
I sometimes find it helpful to lightly mark with a pencil the placement of my darts on the wrong side of the fabric to ensure these come out even and straight.
Step 4
Next, attach the upper skirt pieces at the side seams, making sure to line up the pieces correctly so that the lengths of the back sides match up with the front. Since this portion of the dress is not lined, I used French seams to keep the inside of the dress looking clean and finished.
Step 5
Next, attach the front bust piece with the top back piece at the side seam.
Step 6
Join the bust self and facing at the arm curve and sew. You can clip triangles out of the seam allowance here to allow the curve to lay correctly without being bunchy. Flip right sides out and press.
Step 7
Take your flutter sleeve, and skirt ruffle pieces and sew a 1/4 inch rolled hem all along the edges. It is much easier to do it while it’s loose rather than after it’s attached.
Step 8
Attach your front and back neckline pieces at the shoulder (4 times, 2 self and 2 facings).
Step 9
The next part might seem a bit complicated, but with the use of pins and some patience, the design will start to take its shape and we are sure you will love the result! I find that looking at the completed top first will help with visualizing the steps needed to assemble it.
Step 10
The armhole of the dress is composed of the sleeve and the neckline piece attaching to the bust/ back pieces, starting from the corners of the sleeve being sandwiched in and meeting in the middle. The pieces should be layered so that the sleeve is in between the bust/back and the raw edges are hidden within the neck piece facings when closed.
Step 11
In the image above, you can see how the sleeve connects to the bust/back piece with the sleeve attached around to the neckpiece at the center top. Once these pieces have been sewn together and pressed, you can attach the neckpiece facing, which will conceal all of the raw edges.
Step 12
Once the neckpiece facing has been attached to the self you can flip the facing in and slip stitch it closed.
Step 13
This is how the top should look when all the pieces have been put together.
Step 14
Once the top of the dress is complete, you can attach it to the top of the upper skirt piece (shown here finished with a French seam). Do the same for the bottom of the skirt.
Step 15
This is how the completed skirt bottom should look. Finally, add in your invisible zipper and hook and eye (for added security).
Such a stunning dress! Thankyou for the free pattern!
Hi, I would like to know if it is possible to make this dress as a wrap dress instead?
Hi Joelle, yes you could definitely make a wrap dress out of this!
So beautiful wow!!
I’m excited so create this for myself!
Thank you for the pattern.
Omg this is PERFECT. I am making my own dress for my wedding next summer and this pattern is exactly what I was looking for. I plan on making the bodice and skirt out of cotton blend jersey and the ruffle and sleeves out of layered chiffon tricot and lace.
I was thinking the same., the dress is so lovely you could make a wedding dress of it.
Is standard ease is built into the sizes?
Yes, it is 🙂
Thanks, Courtney!
I am making a muslin of the Ulmus dress before I use the fabric purchased from Mood. Does it make a difference that the fabric I purchased is a stretch cotton sateen and the muslin is, of course, not stretch?
Susan
It won’t make a huge difference. I made a muslin for fitting before cutting the actual fabric as well and it worked out for me 🙂
Is there a download for US letter size paper or copy shop (large format) layout? I don’t have the ability to print A4 paper, and it looks like that’s what this is. The vertical margins are going off the page.
Hi there! The PDF download is US letter size. Be sure your printer settings are printing at 100% scale and not ‘fit to page’. The logo on the first page also serves as a scale check.
My apologies! It was a different pattern, not this one. This one printed perfectly. 🙂 I’m excited to sew this gorgeous dress for a ‘Havana Nights’ themed fundraiser event.
Hi! I’m trying to print this, but it keeps saying that the file isn’t a standard print size. What size paper is it intended to be printed on?
Hi there! All of our patterns are standard US letter size. Be sure that your printer settings are at 100% and not ‘fit to page’ 🙂
I love this dress! What sewing level would you say is needed to do this successfully?
Depending on the fabric you use, I’d say intermediate. It’s not too difficult with something easy to work with, such as the sateen we used! 🙂
Thank you. I am off to a wedding in Vietnam and this is the perfect dress for it!
Merci merci pour ce cadeau je fais une taille 50 et je cherchais un modèle exactement comme celui là
Il réunit tous les critères que je souhaitais des manches qui cachent un peu les bras, un beau décolleté, un taille sans foncés magnifaïqueeeeeee
Hi! I randomly found your website on goggle and just want to say thank you for sharing these pattern, I’m from Hong Kong and just started learning sewing and you have no idea how much these materials will help me improve and practice!! I downloaded a bunch of them and can’t wait to start!! How can I share photos of my “finish product” with you?? xx
Hi Brenda, thank you so much for the kind words – we’re so happy these patterns are helpful!! You can tag us @moodfabrics on Instagram, or use #MadeWithMood 🙂
I made a mock-up from cotton fabric on hand, then made adjustments. Going on a cruise in 2121, and bought the gorgeous Mood fabric featured for the Ulmus dress way back in 2018. Got the the fit, got the fabric. Will make soon! LOVE Mood patterns & fabrics!
I love this dress but was curious if it’s possible to take the pattern and make it as a blouse? How would I do that?
gorgeous dress, is there sew alongs as well?
Would a border print work for this pattern? How much additional fabric should I have to account for pattern placement? Thanks!
I fell in love with this pattern. I see it has been a few years since it came out. There is still the cotton sateen available and also a cotton voile of it as well. What if the sleeves were in a voile or even the lower kick skirt? Thank you for such a beautiful dress pattern
Hi Meghan! It would definitely give the sleeves and skirt a nice fluttery movement! Let us know if you make it, we’d love to hear how it turns out. 🙂
Hey! Just curious, it lists interfacing on the materials portion, but doesn’t say where we’re supposed to add it in. Am I just missing something? Thanks!
Hello, although the interfacing is not necessary to sew this pattern, it can help by adding support and structure to the neckband pieces.