My latest obsession: the easiest dress ever

Back in the fall, I discovered my new favorite fabric store, Girl Charlee (click here for a referral link, then I'll get a little credit if you're a new customer). They sell exclusively knits, and they're AWESOME!

I ordered two fabrics with nothing specific in mind. The chevron was so perfect that I was afraid to do anything with it. Finally, I'd had enough of winter and decided to make myself a really simple dress that turned out great! Before shirring the waist, it took me less than an hour to make :) Shirring wasn't 100% necessary; a nice thick belt would serve the same purpose.


To make this dress, you'll need thread and a yard of jersey knit for the dress front and back. You'll also need ~2.5 inches of jersey knit (~30 inches wide) for the neckband. Just make sure you have some fabric leftover for this! You could use fabric left from another project, or you could shorten the dress a few inches to ensure you have neckband fabric. You could also make the neckband out of two pieces of fabric ~15 inches wide (still 2.5 inches long), which you'll probably have leftover after cutting out your dress. Just don't cut the neckband going in the wrong direction of the fabric grain. If you're going to do the waist shirring, you'll also need elastic thread.

Start by measuring your widest part (probably your hips/butt). That's the only measurement you'll need. Then follow the steps below to calculate your magic number and create your dress:

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5: this is the tutorial I used here - scroll down to the neckband section

Step 6

Step 7 (optional)

Here's a selfie from before I shirred the waist. A belt works just as well!

I've spent hours oggling all the fabrics at Girl Charlee, and now I want to buy it all. Unfortunately, I can't afford to buy toooooo much...