Make a High-Low Dolman Maxi Dress
For Easter this year, I made myself a new dress! I had some lightweight knit from Joann’s Red Tag section and thought it would be great as a lightweight dolman maxi dress. Nothing fussy or fancy, but cool and comfortable for the upcoming summer.
To make my dolman maxi dress, I started with the Deer Creek Tunic and Dress and made a few adjustments.
Adjustments During Cutting
As I was cutting out the dress, I lengthened the bodice 3 inches and extended the shoulder seams about an inch. I extended both the top and bottom lines for the sleeves along their existing angle. This made the sleeve a bit longer (to accommodate my wide shoulders) and narrower at the opening. I wanted the sleeve a bit narrower so I didn’t worry about gaping at the sleeve allowing people to see up my sleeve.
I also lengthened the skirt of the dress by extending side seams longer and curving across the bottom to the fold. It was not exact at all. Especially because I didn’t trace out the dress length included in the pattern. I just used the skirt portion for the tunic as my guide and made it longer. However, I didn’t have enough fabric to make both the front and back maxi length. So I decided to make it a high-low hem.
Adjustments During Sewing
Once I got the bodice and skirt put together, I tried the dolman maxi dress on to see how the extra bodice length looked on me. It was blousy, and would have been fantastic for an everyday dress. Or a swim/beach cover up. That would have been great too! However, I wanted to be able to dress it up enough for going to church. So I took it apart and cut off 1.5 inches from the bodice and got the look I was going for.
Technically, this dress is probably a midi length dress even though I am calling it a Maxi. My original vision was longer with a slight high low close to the ankles, but the fabric just ran out. Even though the hi-low was intentional, it did’t quite look right. The slope in the front was too gradual while the slope on the back was too steep. It really looked like a tail. So I trimmed up the back several inches and used the hi-low hem of the Telluride Top as a guide for the slopes.
I made the front as long as I could with it still looking good. Cause I wanted a Maxi! I like how cool it is, but I would have made the skirt portion longer if I had enough fabric.
Overall, I’m really happy with my new dress! It’s very comfortable and cool! I used the neck binding method for finishing the neckline and I think it looks fantastic! Now I have at least one dress ready for summer and the glorious warm weather to come!
Links to Patterns Used:
Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission. This helps fund fabric for testing and reviewing patterns. Regardless, I only recommend what I believe is quality.
I think you look great! I was going to ask if you made the dress- it looked straight from the store! And so comfy too! and great colors!!
It looks fantastic!
Thank you for reminding me that I actually own this pattern, love what you did with it
Thanks! Hope you sew something up with the pattern!