Drafting Patterns for Skirts and Dresses

Skirts and Dresses may be the backbone of your wardrobe.  A dress is so easy to pop on in the morning, and a skirt is versatile - you can dress it up or down, and wear it with many different blouses and tops for many different looks.

Using your basic dress block, you can design skirts and dresses of many silhouettes - slim, full, short, long, combinations fit and flare - anything your little heart desires!

The dress block, of course, consists of the bodice and skirt - so you can separate them to create just a skirt, or use complete block to create a dress (with or without a waistline - more on that later!)

Before you create these dress, skirt or blouse styles, you'll need a well-fitting dress block. You can create one from a commercial pattern, fitting the block to your measurements and shape.

If you'd prefer to draft a block from your own measurements, Craftsy has courses in Patternmaking Basics: the Bodice Sloper and Patternmaking Basics: the Skirt Sloper

Dress Styles

Dress styles can have a high waist, low waist, natural waist - or no waist at all! 

All are variations of your dress block though! Following a few simple steps will help you make a dress pattern in any style you like.

sketch of woman wearing 2-color high waist sheath dress
sketch of woman wearing drop-waist dress
sketch of model wearing pink dress with high waist and pleats

Skirt Styles

Skirt styles are every bit as varied as dress styles.  

Slim, full, pleated, gored, or cut in a circle - each technique gives different results, and each style can be further varied with fabric and color choices. 

sketch of woman wearing pleat skirt with flat front
sketch of circle skirt
sketch of woman wearing denim 8-gore skirt with jeans style topstitching and buttons
sketch of full skirt in light blue
skirt with draped side pleats

More Skirts and Dresses

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