I first made a dress in this style back when I was pregnant with my daughter, who I’m making this very dress for now! Basically, this is the easiest dress to make and is very cute and flattering on all body-shapes! I wanted a dress that would accommodate my pregnant shape, but also be wearable after my pregnancy, and I had pregnancy brain, so it had to be easy! Voilà, the Easy Empire Dress was born! I have made quite a few over the years and still wear them all the time. It’s a great way of using a bit of pretty fabric that isn’t quite enough for a dress all by itself, too. Simply put, it’s a store-bought stretch top, a tube of fabric, and some elastic. That’s it! So here is how I make the Easy Empire Dress, which my daughter now also loves wearing!
What you need:
Store-bought stretch top in your size
Fabric at least 1.5x your widest measurement*
Elastic, 1cm ( ½ inch) wide
Scissors
Thread
*Note on fabric – I have used a wide variety of fabrics to make the skirts of these dresses, including cotton sheets from the op (thrift) shop, quilting cotton, cotton jersey, cotton voile, rayon, and silk and so far all have worked great!
Step 1
Put the top on and mark on the sides just below your bust line, usually about the bottom of your bra strap. Lay the top on your cutting surface and mark the centre-front at the same line as the mark you’ve made on the sides. I love using Crayola markers for this because they wash off really easily, but don’t brush off accidentally like tailor’s chalk can as you take the top off.
Step 2
Fold the top in half vertically and cut about 1cm or ½ inch below the lines you’ve made, which will be your seam allowance.
Step 3
Now take your skirt fabric, and sew it into a big tube. Then use pins to mark the centre-back (the seam line), the centre-front, and the two sides. Then do the same for the cut edge of your top, using another four pins to mark those points. With your top right-side-out, and your skirt inside-out, place your top inside the skirt tube, then match those pinned points, using one of the pins at each point to pin centre-front to centre-front, etc. Feline assistance is not necessary, and may even be unhelpful, but is still an option.
Step 4
Using a zig-zag stitch, place your pinned top and skirt under your presser foot, using the presser foot to secure them, then you stretch the top out to match the amount of fabric in the skirt in the pinned section you’re in. Go around the entire way around in this fashion.
Step 5
Place your elastic onto your seam allowance, and zig-zag stitch it down, stretching it out to full tension as you sew, which will pull the top back in after we stretched it out in the previous step, and when you’re wearing the dress. Go around the whole top/skirt seam in this way, overlapping the elastic slightly at the join.
Step 6
Hem your skirt to desired length, which for me is always full length, again with optional feline oversight, and then enjoy your lovely new dress!
Voila! Strut Your New Empire Dress!
Love This Sewing Tutorial? Try One Of These Next!
DIY Simple Skirt Tutorial
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My daughter loves her new dress, and wore it as soon as I finished it! Then wore it again as soon as it had been washed! There are so many variations you can do with this dress, too, like using a non-stretch top that is gathered down with the elastic under the bust, a shorter skirt, layered skirts, a circle skirt, pleating the skirt, or a much wider skirt-tube and gather down the top of the skirt before attaching it to the top for a great deal more volume. I have made many dresses in this style and have worn one to the point that I had to unpick the top and sew on a new one because it had worn out, but the quilting cotton skirt was still great! It’s a very comfortable style to wear, and can be great for hot or cold weather depending on the top chosen and what you wear under it! I hope you have a go at making one of my favourite daily-wear items, the Easy Empire Dress!
