Sewingplums

Sew a wardrobe in a weekend. – or make 6 dresses 😀

It’s the season of the dress, and Butterick, McCall’s and New Look all think we can make a dress in 1 or 2 hours of sewing time ! Whew. . .

Of course there are many dress patterns which can be sewn speedily. I’ve just listed the ones the pattern companies say can be made in a limited time. I’ve included a few out-of-print patterns still available from BMV, to show the range of styles possible.

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Super Quick Dress patterns for woven fabrics

Butterick 5211 is a 1 hour straight dress.

At the end of the 50s, the ‘sacque’ dress appeared. A group of us bored girls at college summer school decided to make them. It was a huge change in fashion, so we would never have had the courage to do it alone. (At that time fashion was very rigid – and I don’t just mean the corsets – everyone HAD to wear the same style). We cut rectangles of fabric, and sewed round them with gaps for neck, armholes and hem. The boys were horrified, they were used to all those tiny waists and big petticoats.

This Butterick dress may look very simple and shapeless, but it’s much more subtly elegant than those rectangles 😀

oop McCall’s 5519 is a 1 hour sheath dress with pattern pieces for 3 cup sizes.

McCall’s 9172 is a current 1-hour a-line dress, with a pattern piece for adding a bust dart.

McCall’s 5855 is a 1-hour caftan.

McCall’s even thinks that if we have an extra hour of sewing time we can make a princess seamed dress, see oop McCall’s 9456 2-hour dress.

New Look 6804 is a summery 2-hour dress with a variety of straps and necklines.

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One Hour Dress Patterns for Knits

oop Butterick 5100 is a 1-hour knit dress styled as an overdress or over-tunic. The wide neckband is actually a deep cowl.

McCall’s 6074 has 1-hour sleeveless knit dresses with front interest.

McCall’s 5893 is a 1-hour empire waist dress for knits.

McCall’s 6069 has 1-hour knit dresses with a drape back and plain or drape front.

And there are a couple of more covered-up-for-winter styles :

Butterick 5397 is a 1-hour gathered scoop neck knit dress.

Butterick 5247 is a 1-hour cowl neck knit dress.

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Again I’m fascinated by how much variety designers can find for these simple styles. Easy changes to necklines and armholes, with occasional extra seaming.

Interesting to see what’s possible in limited time. But I rarely have reason to wear a dress. If I was going to make a dress, I would prefer to take more time and make one with more style elements. I like tucks, pleats and small ruffles, and waist seams give me the best fit.

I’ve only mentioned patterns which the pattern companies give a sewing time for. There are of course a lot of dress patterns which could be made in half a day by people who can do other sewing processes quickly, like adding a zip or buttonholes.

Many of these speedy dress patterns include darts. Either darts or gathered fullness do give better fit, especially if you’re a larger cup size. But there are patterns without darts, if you’re not happy about sewing them.

Here’s ejvc’s description of Nancy Zieman’s method for making darts quickly :
“Mark apex and snip legs in the seam allowance. Then, pull out a long thread from the needle. Take a few stitches [in seam allowance] to anchor and then stretch the thread to the apex mark (it forms a straight line). Sew along the thread. Very quick, hardly any marking.”

Many of these dresses are slightly flared in silhouette. If that’s not flattering for you, see my post on easy patterns and body shape for some suggestions.

Anyway there are very quick dress patterns in many styles. So pick a fancy fabric and make one in the afternoon to wear that evening. Sheers, shiny, sequins, lace, multicolour abstract prints are all ‘in’ this season. (Ah, warning, most of those fabrics are not quick or easy to cut or sew :D)

And of course it’s easy to shorten simple dresses to make a tunic or top. I’m planning another post on timed top patterns. Interestingly, most of the tops take 2 hours, not one. . .

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Patterns and links available May 2010

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Okay, so you’re inspired to follow Sue Neall and sew a wardrobe in a weekend.

Sue Neall made 2 tops, 2 bottoms, and 2 layering pieces (jackets). Most of us would find it more realistic to aim for making one of each.
But anyway, you need patterns for jacket, top, skirt, and pants.
All to be sewn in 2 days. (Prepare patterns beforehand, see my previous post.)
So you need patterns which can be made in less than half a day, say :
– 6 hours for each garment if making 4 items,
– 4 hours each if making 6.
Of course you can make 1 slow garment and 3 ultra quick ones 😀 but that’s the general idea.

Most people who enjoy quick sewing do it by sewing knits using an overlocker/ serger. To widen the possibilities I’ve picked mainly patterns for wovens.

Make your capsule “This Year” (2014) in style by using :
colour : nudes, pastels, khakis, indigo blue, brights.
fabric : sheers, denim, sweatshirt fleece, lace, leather.
fabric pattern : striped knits, multicolour abstract prints, soft florals, african, batik, or animal prints.
trim : big patch pockets, studs and metal buttons, lace, cord or ribbon ties.

And ‘minimalism’ is ‘in’ this season, which means the simplest of styles made in high quality drapey fabrics.

Co-ordinating is easier if you use a wardrobe pattern. So what wardrobe patterns are there ?

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2018 update – few of these patterns are still in print, but it’s still worth looking at the line diagrams for ideas.

These are still in print :
Butterick 3886, jacket, camisole, pants
Butterick 4406, a sleepwear pattern which, with length variations, could work for general casual wear
New Look 6816, a 2-hour pattern for knit top, skirt and pants.
Dana Marie Sophisticated Curves
Dana Marie Easy Pieces

There are very few ‘wardrobe’ patterns these days. Pull together a group of ’sewn in less than 3 hours’ patterns instead.

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2014 update : Sadly nearly all the patterns in this post are now out of print.
The line diagrams do give you an idea of the simple shapes with few style elements that you need to choose if you want to sew quickly.

These look like the nearest equivalents available July 2014, with simple shapes and few time-taking techniques :
Butterick 3886 jacket, camisole, pants
Butterick 5170 waterfall cover up, shell, pants (oop 2018)
Vogue 8914 jacket, top, skirt (oop 2018)

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Timed wardrobe patterns

There actually are a few wardrobe patterns which the pattern companies claim can be sewn in a very short time.

oop Butterick 5225 is a Life Style Wardrobe coded Easy rather than Very Easy. Butterick say it (presumably each garment) needs 2 hours of sewing time.

oop Butterick 5229 is a 2 hour pattern which includes tunic, dress, pants and jumpsuit.

I prefer oop Butterick 5000, another 2 hour pattern. (Add a quick elastic waist skirt – I think short or long, straight or flared, would work with these tops.)

If you have even less time, oop Butterick 5226 is a 1-hour pattern for tunic, top and pants.

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Wardrobes which might take a little longer

If not using those timed patterns, it becomes more a matter of personal judgement. I think some of the Butterick Very Easy supposedly Fast & Easy patterns look as if they would take only a bit more time. I’ve picked ones with few seams and no buttonholes or zips.

oop Butterick 5045 is a VE FE pattern including cascade style jacket or vest, dress, tunic and pants.

oop Butterick 5363 is a Lifestyle Wardrobe that is VE FE.

oop Butterick 4297 includes a very easy wrap rather than a jacket.

Also look at other wardrobe patterns to see if they can be simplified. For example, oop Butterick 5472. Make that drape jacket as a single layer without facings or lining – finish the edges with narrow hems or bias binding.
Or, the Butterick 5472 jacket is supposed to be made with bagged edge-to-edge lining of fronts and back. Would that be quicker ?
And substitute elastic waist pants.

If you’d like to button up, but don’t like making buttonholes, then try cord button loops.

oop McCall’s 5298 is a scaled down version of oop McCall’s 5143, which included a thigh length jacket and full length pants – easy changes to make.

Or how about Butterick 4406, a VE FE sleepwear pattern which could work for general casual wear – shorten the robe to make jacket, 2 tops, and pants (and it’s still in print !).

Ah, these patterns both have band collars. Would it be quicker to use a bias band neck edge finish ?

Could you substitute button loops for buttonholes, or big snaps for closures, in other patterns ?

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Super Quick Knits

oop Butterick 5190 is a VE FE Lifestyle Wardrobe for knits.

There’s also oop New Look 6147 for more sporty casual knits. (Enlarge the top neckline a bit so you don’t need a zip.)

2018 – New Look 6816 is a 2-hour pattern for knit top, skirt and pants.

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Wardrobe patterns from independents

Most independent pattern designers produce patterns for individual garments, but there are a few relevant wardrobe patterns.

The Park Bench oop Central Park pattern could be the ultimate quick and easy casual wardrobe. I think the top, long vest, skirt and pants would be very quick to make, the rounded vest and jacket a bit less so. (This is a one-size pattern to be adapted to your own size, so it’s quick to sew only after you’ve sorted that out.)

There are several very easy wardrobe patterns from Dana Marie – Purrfection. Such as Sophisticated Curves.

or Easy Pieces.

Both these are still available.

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Obviously the best speedy pattern for you, and the simplifications you make, depend on what you’re happy to sew quickly. There are many other simple wardrobe patterns you can use if you’re comfortable with sewing buttonholes, darts or zips. Someone who has no qualms about zips may choose very different patterns from someone who avoids them. I get the horrors about making rows of buttonholes, but one of the wardrobe patterns said to take only 2 hours includes them.

P.S. There are now posts on quick-sew patterns for individual garment types, see speedy sewing section.

Most people who sew quickly use TNTs. If these patterns are new to you, you may need to adapt these simple shapes beforehand – so they’re more flattering for your body shape and more in your style. See my previous post.

And of course, we don’t all enjoy sewing quickly.
And we don’t all want to wear such simple shapes with so few style features. Though quality fabrics can make them special.
Though these patterns do show much more variety than I was expecting.

So choose what you want to do.
And have fun – is this how you want to spend a special weekend 😀

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Patterns and links available May 2010
Update July 2014, December 2018

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