Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy: Free Women's Dress Pattern!

Free Printable women’s dress sewing pattern in sizes Small to 4XL! And yes, it’s so easy, it’s Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy!

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I can’t tell you how excited I am to share with you my newest free printable pattern!

This free printable sewing pattern is available in sizes 0-3 months (infant) all the way up to a women’s size 4XL!

It was a ton of work to make this happen, so I truly hope you enjoy it!

This particular pattern is for women’s sizes Small up to an 4XL.

I also want to point out that while this isn’t strictly a maternity dress, I did design it to be friendly towards all seasons of life — so it is maternity and nursing friendly, too!

Again, while this particular PDF pattern includes sizes Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, 1XL, 2XL, 3XL, and 4XL — I do have other sizes available, too. Perfect for matching with your little ones! (I have teen sizes available, too!)

I’ll be sure to link the additional youth sizes down below.

And yes, this dress has nice roomy pockets!!

What This Pattern Includes

Here’s what this pattern includes. And yes, it truly is free to print!

Printable Pattern in women’s sizes Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, 1XL, 2XL, 3XL, and 4XL
Sizing guide (included inside PDF)
Skirt panel sizing chart (included inside PDF)
Yardage allotment for each individual size (included inside PDF)
Pattern piece for pockets, too! (included inside PDF)
Written/photographed tutorial (read it here on the blog below!)
Video Tutorial on my Youtube Channel! (coming soon!)

Additional Available Sizes

Like I’ve mentioned before, this is my post that has my WOMEN’S SIZE DRESS PATTERN.

That being said, I’ve also graded this pattern so it’s available in almost every other size, too!

Here are the other sizes this pattern is available in (and yes, these are free, too!)

Print Your Pattern Here!

Without further ado, here’s your free pattern.

After you print it out, come on back to the blog for a full tutorial on how to make it!

Important note: Please make sure you print out this pattern at 100% scale. Then, please double check that you have printed out your pattern at the right size by taking a ruler and measuring the length and width of the 1″ test square provided for you on the first page of your pattern.

Video Tutorial

Video tutorial coming soon

How To Sew This Dress

Below, I’m going to take you through step by step on how to sew this dress.

Step 1: Assemble Your Pattern

The first thing you’ll want to do is assemble your pattern pieces.

The way you will do this is by joining them together at the margin guides.

(The margin guides are those squares around each printer paper page)

These margin guides help you assemble your pattern pieces in the straightest way possible, and also ensure that your printer isn’t going to accidentally cut off any of your pattern pieces and distort the pattern.

Oh — another important thing: you want to make sure you printed everything out at the correct size. Measure that 1″ square on your pattern piece. You’ll see what I mean when you look at your pattern, I marked it pretty clearly.

I like to assemble my pattern by cutting of the edge of the paper right at the margin guide (only the sides necessary, you don’t need to cut out the entire “box” usually just one or two of the sides), and then I like to use tape to assemble them. CLEAR tape.

You can also use glue, which works fine, but you have to wait for it to dry before you use your pattern. And the pages can still start to come apart over time if you’re using a glue stick. Tape is more sturdy.

Anyway, if you get lost trying to figure out how to assemble your pattern, there’s an easy to read chart included in your PDF so that you can see exactly how the fully assembled pattern will look.

There are also grey translucent numbers/letters on each page to help you figure out what is what.

Step 2: Cut out Your Size

After you’ve assembled your pattern so that you have full size pieces, you’ll need to cut out your proper size.

First thing is first — you’ll want to use the sizing guide included in your PDF pattern.

If you’re between sizes, just decide if you want something more fitted or something more comfy.

Pro tip: use a thrift store sheet and make two bodices, one in each size you’re trying to decide between. Sew them up at the sides and then decide which size fits you better. (you can also carefully tape the paper pattern pieces together to “try them on” to get a rough idea, too! then just cut the tape when you’re done to use the pattern)

Now, there’s something I’m really excited to try out with this pattern that I’ve never done before.

Not only does each individual size have a different pattern to help you keep track of what size you’re cutting out, but I have added a different COLOR to help you easily cut out your pattern, too!

While I’m super excited about these color coded pattern sizes, please note that it is absolutely NOT necessary that you print in color! This is absolutely optional to do!

However, if you’re a beginner who decides they would love that extra bit of help in cutting out their pattern, I really hope you’ll find it useful!

Step 3: Cut Your Fabric

Next, you’ll want to cut out your fabric pieces.

For the bodice, you’ll want to cut out two MIRRORED pieces of your front bodice in your main fabric AND your lining fabric.

You’ll also want to cut out one back bodice piece in your main fabric AND in your lining. (2 total pieces cut from the back bodice pattern)

Cut out 4 pocket pieces, if you want pockets. (mirrored). The pockets are optional, but who doesn’t love pockets!?

Lastly, you’ll want to cut out your skirt pieces.

The pattern needs 2 skirt panels.

The skirt panels are just rectangles. Really basic shape. Easy to cut out.

It would have required so much more paper to print out the skirt pieces, so I decided that it was better to just provide you a chart so that you can measure your rectangles for the skirt panels and cut them out that way.

For some of the sizes, you might need to cut out two equal sized pieces of fabric and sew them together to create a front panel and back panel for your dress that matches the size on the chart. This is totally dependent on the width of the fabric you’re using.

Step 4: Sew The Shoulders

Sew the shoulders of your dress right side together with a 1/2″ seam allowance.

FYI: a 1/2″ seam allowance is what you’ll use for this entire project unless otherwise stated.

(if you’re new to sewing, a 1/2″ seam allowance just means that your needle is stitching into the fabric exactly 1/2″ away from the edge of your fabric. It’s important to keep track of this so that your dress comes out the proper size. The little notches on the needle plate of your sewing machine will help guide you/help keep your sewing straight)

Be sure to sew the shoulders of the front bodice to the back bodice on both your main fabric AND your lining. This essentially is creating two separate bodices.

After you sew the shoulders, press open your seams with an iron.

Sew Bodice to the Lining

Next, you’re going to want to sew the main fabric of your bodice to the nice soft inner lining of the dress.

Lay your bodices open and right sides together.

You’re going to want to sew around the arm holes, around the neck, and around the front of the dress.

I went ahead and marked with a red line the places you should be sewing together. Leave all the other edges OPEN.

Clip Into Seam Allowance

This next part really should NOT be skipped, because if you skip it, your bodice is going to look all bunched up.

This step is truly worth the effort, I promise.

Make tiny cuts into your seam allowance around all your curved edges that you just sewed.

This gives the garment more movement so that when it’s time to turn it right side out, there isn’t bunching.

You’ll also want to snip off the corners on the front bodice pieces. This will make it so the “points” on the front bodice are truly pointy and not rounded.

Be very cautious that you do not cut into your stitches. You don’t want to have all your stitching fall out, you just want to add movement and flexibility to the fabric.

Turn Right Side Out

Next, turn it all right side out!

You’ll want to reach inside your bodice through that back bodice piece, and carefully pull the front bodice through the shoulders and out the back bodice.

Pull each front bodice piece out through the shoulders one by one.

If you need help, these little forceps are excellent for turning out things when sewing. I always make sure they’re at the top of my sewing box where I can easily grab them.

After you’ve turned out your bodice, iron it flat.

Then, top stitch around all the edges you just sewed. (you don’t need to top stitch the remaining raw edges)

Great little topstitching tip: make your stitch length slightly longer while top stitching. It will make your sewing look straighter. Just don’t forget to switch it back to a normal stitch length before moving onto the next step!

Not sure what top stitching is? It’s just sewing very close to the edge of your fabric. This will help hold your garment into place; it just makes it stay neat and straight over time through day to day wear. Just be sure you truly are taking the time to get your iron out first, as top stitching is sort of like a partial permanent ironing method, in a way. You don’t want to sew wrinkly fabric permanently into wrinkled place.

Prepare For Buttons!

Take a quick moment to prepare for buttons.

The way you’ll do this is by overlapping the right side of your front bodice on top of the left side of the front bodice by 1/2″.

Sew horizontally on this overlap into place on the bottom of your bodice (do NOT sew the entire bodice vertical opening closed!)

The buttons are “supposed to be” on the left side of the front bodice, which is why I saw overlap the right side that it’s on top of the left side, but if you mess this up, The Button Police are not going to come to your door and tell you that you sewed the buttons on the wrong side of your dress.

Truly, it will be okay if you accidentally sew the left side on top of the right side of your front bodice.

Anyway, you don’t have to put the buttons on yet. I suggest waiting until the end to actually put on buttons and buttonholes so you can be sure that everything is super duper straight.

You also do NOT want to sew the sides of your bodice yet.

POCKETS!

Alright, let’s talk about pockets.

If you’re a beginner, this can feel intimidating.

But it’s truly not a complicated science. They’re just pockets. It will be okay.

And if your’e really concerned about the pockets — you can skip them. Just sew straight down the side seams of your dress when we get to that part instead of around the pockets. You can always decide to sew pockets onto your dress the next time you sew one!

Now, with these pockets, we will be sewing them with a French seam.

To sew a French seam:

Line up the straight edge of your pocket to the edge of the side of your skirt WRONG sides together (pretty sides “showing”)
Double check to make sure the “bag” part of your pocket is facing DOWN, not up.
Sew this straight edge very close to the edge.
Trim off any extra fabric in your seam allowance close to your stitching line, but being careful not to cut INTO your stitches.
Now, flip over your pocket so that it’s laying right sides together against your skirt panel.
Sew that straight edge of your pocket a second time, this time with about a 1/4″ seam allowance.

You did it! This makes your pocket super strong AND neat and tidy, hiding all those raw edges where they won’t be fraying all over the place in day to day use!

Repeat this process for all 4 of your individual pocket pieces.

Make sure all of your pocket pieces are attached the same distance down from the top of your skirt panel.

Now, the exact distance down from the top of your skirt panel is NOT an exact science. It should be where your hand naturally rests against your body, and is probably going to be somewhere between 5 1/2″ – 6″ down from the top of your skirt panel (this is where you’d mark for the TOP edge of your POCKET to start, fyi).

Just be consistent with this distance. If you sew one pocket to the side of your skirt 6″ down from the top of your skirt panel, you need to sew ALL FOUR of your pockets exactly 6″ down from the top of your skirt panel.

Sewing The SKIRT To The BODICE

Yay! You’re getting closer to the end!

This is where your dress really starts looking more like a dress! It’s time to sew each individual skirt panel to the front of the bodice and to the back of the bodice!

First, go ahead and gather the top edge of each skirt panel.

Then, adjust the gathering so that it is the same width and the front bodice and back bodice.

Next, go ahead and sew one skirt panel to the front of your bodice, and the other skirt panel to the back of your bodice.

Use a FRENCH SEAM to sew the skirt panels to the bodice.

Remember, to sew these on with a French seam, you will need to:

Sew the skirt panel to one side of your bodice WRONG sides together (pretty sides showing, dull sides touching!)
Sew close to the edge all the way across. Carefully trim off any extra seam allowance without cutting into your stitches. (this can be tricky with the thick gathered edge of your skirt! Trim slowly and cautiously!)
Now, flip your skirt on top of your bodice so that it is laid RIGHT sides together (pretty sides touching, dull sides showing).
Sew across a second time, keeping a 1/4″ seam allowance.

This process will encase all of your raw edges neatly, and make your sewing super strong! I love a good sturdy garment that will stand the test of time!

Sew The Sides

Next, you’ll want to use a French seam to sew down the sides of the dress.

If you are NOT using pockets, just sew a straight line all the way down, starting at the bodice, and sewing straight down to the bottom of your skirt.

If you ARE using pockets, it’s basically the same process except that you will sew AROUND your pockets.

Exact step by step of how to do this:

Starting at the top side of your bodice (right under where your armpit will lay), start sewing down, staying close to the edge of your dress.
Once you reach the top of your pocket (it should be sticking out and very visible), simply pivot and continue sewing around that pocket shape.
Continue sewing all the way down to the bottom of your dress.
Trim off any excess fabric from your seam allowance.
Next, turn everything inside out, including your pockets. The pockets should be facing “OUT” just as they were the first time, except this time your dress should be inside out with the pockets sticking straight out of the sides.
Again, starting at the top of the side of the bodice, start sewing down, this time maintaining a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Just like before, once you get to your pocket, just pivot and sew around the pocket, too!
Keep sewing all the way down to the side of your dress.

Now, after you sew your French seams, you shouldn’t have to poke your pockets back out of the dress. All you should have to do is turn the dress back right side out again, leaving the pockets inside the dress like normal in seam pockets would be.