As a plus size girl, some silhouettes scare me. Dresses with drop waists are pretty much right at the top of that list. However, I’ve had my eye on the Ulmus Dress with it’s adorable ruffles since it’s release last summer, and after finding the perfect lemon print to pair with it, I decided to give it a try. I couldn’t be more in love. The stripes of the sateen that I chose show off the billowing sleeves and skirt ruffle beautifully. Personally, I can’t wait to wear this look to a summer party, but I could easily see it at a Sunday brunch or out for a stroll through the botanical gardens. Let me know how you’d style your Ulmus Dress!
Purchase Materials Used Below:
- 4 yards Mood Exclusive Bontrovo en Honoro Stretch Cotton Sateen
- Bone 24″ Invisible Zipper
- MDF065 – The 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.
Here’s how to sew:
Following the guidelines on your pattern, begin by adding the darts into the front bodice pieces.
Sew the front and back bodice pieces at the side seams, and press your seam allowances. The bodice part of this dress is lined, so you should have four layers of what’s show below: two main fabric layers, and two lining layers. Personally, I lined mine with the same fabric as my dress.
Sew your lining to the main fabric along the top curve of the bodice. Clip your seam allowance, like you see below, turn your bodice right side out, and press.
Set your bodice aside for the time being to take a look at your sleeves and neckline. Along the outer curve of your sleeve pieces, sew a small rolled hem.
Take your front and back neckline pieces and match up the notches on the one short end. Sew along the edge to create your shoulder seams, like the lower right image. Like your bodice, the neckline is also line, so you should have four layers of this as well.
Next, aligning your shoulder seam with the center, attach each of your sleeves to one layer of your neckline along the small unfinished curve, like below.
Take each of the neckline pieces that you attached your sleeves to, and pin them to your bodice, like you see below. With the fabric faces together, start by matching up the bottom of the front neckline to the bottom of your front bodice. Repeat with the back neckline and bodice. Stay-stitch into place.
Take the lining layers of your neckline and sew them along the long edge of your main neckline layer. Press the lining toward the inside of the garment, and then press 1/2″ of the raw edge inward. Tuck all of your raw edges inward from your bodice and neckline and pin them into your neckline lining. Slip-stitch the lining down.
Set the top part of your dress aside for the moment and take a look at your skirt. Sew the darts into your front and back upper skirt panels, following your pattern guidelines. Take your skirt ruffle and give the outer curve a small rolled hem, similar to your sleeves.
Sew your back upper skirt panels to the front upper skirt at the side seams. Since this part of your dress is unlined, I recommend French seams here. Once your upper skirt is assembled, it can be attached to the bodice of your dress.
Add in your zipper and then sew down the remainder of the center back seam.
Lastly, attach your skirt ruffle along the bottom of your lower skirt. The front ends overlap, so be sure to start from the center back of your dress and working your way toward the front while pinning.
Will you be giving the Ulmus Dress a try? Let me know what kind of fabric you’d love to use in the comments!
6 comments
I love this post. It reminds me of the lessons i learned in 4H and school Home Ec classes and have forgotten. It encourages me to get back to sewing.
Love the dress. With all of my diet dreams failing and health issues i spend a lot of time looking at ready-mades it seems there is nothing cute on the market. This is a great option and we would ne able to attend functions again. Thank you.
So cute! I’m curious how it fits in the bust? I rarely find dresses with this silhouette that fit me from the waist up.
I have that problem too! I found that it fits quite well though (I’m a DDD and had no issues). This style is very easy to adjust below the bust with it’s fisheye darts though, so you could size up or down to fit your bust and adjust the bottom portion accordingly without too much hassle.
Hello! I just received this pattern and I am excited to make it. Im not sure if I’m doing something incorrectly but I only see part one of the pattern which does not contain the pages for part 2, which is the front asymmetrical skirt portion. I have pages 1-67 that only contain the pieces for the rest of the dress. Any help would be great! Thanks, Rachel
Hi Rachel, 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: this redux had changes that were self-drafted and that will not reflect onto the original pattern.