Making A Classic Little Black Dress

I want to share making a classic little black dress with you. I haven’t made anything like this in ages, so I was happy to add something that I really needed to my wardrobe. For this project, I pulled out a pattern I’ve had in my stash for quite some time – Simplicity 1417.

This is a pattern from 2014, so it’s not terribly old (in my opinion). But the style is so classic that this can be made anytime.

The Pattern For The Little Black Dress

Simplicity 1417 is an OOP pattern that is one from their Amazing Fit line. It features princess seams, a slightly flared peplum, a waist seam, and pattern pieces for B, C, D cups. The point of these pattern details is to give the wearer some shaping and fit options.

There are also some sleeve options with a sleeveless, tulip sleeve, and cap sleeve. I made the cap sleeve option which is View B (and the one on the pattern envelope). This is the perfect pattern for making a classic little black dress.

Instructions are detailed for those who need extra fit advice or help. 1″ side seam allowances make fitting the dress an easy process.

My Dress

I used a linen rayon blend that I bought from Fabric dot com (it’s an Amazon company). There were no fit issues with mine, so it was an easy process. I did not make a muslin first because I really felt confident that I could get a great fit.

The main difference with min is that I attached to peplum to the outside of the garment, rather than attaching it in the seams (which is how it’s supposed to be done). Instructions call for the peplum to be lined, which is unnecessary. I do recommend that you read through the instructions first to be aware of the process.

Here is the YouTube video I did on this particular dress:

By the way, you should follow me on YouTube as well .

This is definitely something I am so glad I made. I believe I can get a lot of use out of this dress.

Here are some other recent dresses I’ve made.

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Summer Dresses To Beat The Heat

I have been focused on making some summer dresses over the past month in particular. It has been very hot here and for a couple of weeks, our air conditioner was broken. So I was spending my days in a very warm (hot) house. So here are some summer dresses to beat the heat. These use a variety of new patterns and older patterns. My hope is that it will inspire you to make your own and stay cool for the rest of the summer!

The Dresses

One thing I have noticed is that when it’s hot, I like a looser fit. I like simpler style lines and fewer details. This is definitely something to keep in mind if you feel the same.

BurdaStyle madras plaid dress front — BurdaStyle 6912

This dress Is one I made last year, but it has certainly gotten a lot of wear this summer. This was one of my Minerva makes for Minerva Fabrics. The pattern includes some style options, but this is a cool and comfortable dress.

Another one of my summer dresses to beat the heat is made with McCall’s 6885. Funny that this one is also a Minerva make.

The fabric is lightweight cotton (fantastic for summer). It also washes and dries easily so it’s easy to care for as well. Shirt dress styles are fun summer (or anytime) wear.

This particular pattern is almost like a shift dress/shirtdress combo!

Last is one of my most recent makes. I used McCall’s 7742 to make this blue chambray pull-on dress.

This fabric is lightweight and perfect for this type of style. It is cool and comfortable to wear.

As you can see from the back photo, the dress also features in-seam pockets. I am a person that loves to have pockets in dresses. If a pattern doesn’t have them included, they can certainly be added on most patterns. I have done this many times!

The Fabrics

As far as summertime fabrics are concerned, I personally like these:

linen/linen blends
cotton/cotton blends
quilting cotton
eyelet
seersucker

These are the ones I tend to have in my fabric stash.

Are there go to patterns or fabrics that you reach for more often in the summer? Let me know in the comments. I will also be making some shorts, so it’s not all dresses all the time for me. I you would like to see a previous post I wrote about summer dresses a couple of years ago, you can read that here.

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Pattern Review Of My Summer Dress Using McCall’s 7742

Here is a pattern review of my summer dress using McCall’s 7742. I wanted something that would be easy to sew, cool to wear, and cute! I went through my fabric stash and found this lightweight denim chambray. It was perfect for this dress. The material is soft and cool. It washes and dries well and seems like one of those things that will get softer with time.

For my dress, I made View B. As you can see from the photo above, it’s a shorter dress. I wasn’t completely comfortable with dress that length and I wished I had made it longer from the time I cut it out.

Wearing M7742 before alterations — *Before pic*

As you can see, it’s really not that short. It’s just shorter than most dresses I would wear.

So, I changed the hemline by cutting a 5″ strip from the selvedge edge of the fabric and adding it to the bottom of the dress.

M7742 front with selvedge hem detail — *After hem* *changes*

That way, I have the added length I wanted that really makes it more comfortable for me to wear AND I have an interesting feature at the hemline. I left it raw because that’s actually trendy, and I could hem it later if I chose to.

Styling

But I also styled this is a couple of different ways. Of course, I can wear it as is much like the pattern envelope shows.

I also show it belted. I used a scarf I had that also adds a bit of color to the outfit.

I also decided to do a more beachy look with a beach tote I’ve had for years.

Summer dress using M7742 with beach tote

Additional Pattern Details

There are some sleeve options for the dress. I made View B which is the ruffle edge sleeve. There’s also a longer sleeve (it may be 3/4 sleeve) as well as no ruffle and another type of flutter-type sleeve. This might be cute in an eyelet fabric as a swimsuit coverup.

It’s an easy pattern to make and it’s comfortable to wear. I made mine in a large, but I probably could have gone down to a medium. The pattern is XS-S-M or L-XL. There is no bust measurement on the pattern envelope (and not on the pattern tissue itself). It’s an easy pattern that I think is beginner friendly. You will want to use some type of woven fabric that is soft and lightweight.

Using a pattern I already have and fabric I already had in my stash is in line with my previous blog post .

I recommend this pattern, but you might want to consider how loose it is when choosing you size. That would be my only caveat.

Until next time…

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