Athena Dress Pattern & Tutorial
As a seamstress, I spend my days sewing for other people, and it’s actually quite rare that I make anything for myself. I decided it’s time to start making things for myself! What’s the point in being a dressmaker if I can’t reap the benefits?! I picked up this amazing flamingo jersey in Fabric Land, and it’s been in my stash for a while just waiting to be transformed into this maxi dress.
I’m giving this pattern away for free. I’ve learnt so much from the generosity of people on the internet who have shared tutorials and sewing tips, so here is my contribution! The pattern can be downloaded here.
**I have been advised of a flaw in the pattern, which I have now amended.**
To make the dress you will need a sewing machine (an overlocker is preferable, but a sewing machine will do just fine), light or medium weight jersey for the bodice (outer and lining fabric) and a lightweight jersey for the skirt.
1. Download and print the pattern and assemble your pieces. The downloadable pattern is for a UK 8 to 10. At the moment, I don’t have a tutorial for pattern re-sizing, but a good one can be found here. Your pieces should look like this:
2. Sew the shoulder pieces of the bust panels to the shoulder pieces of the back panel, right sides together. Carry out this process for the lining and outer fabric. The green line illustrates where the stitches should go. You can use a straight stitch for this part.
3. Pin the outer fabric to the lining, making sure the shoulder seams match up. Sew along the arm holes and the neck line, where the green line shows you. A zig-zag stitch is recommended for this part. Turn it through the right way when you’re done.
4. Now it’s turned through the right way, you will need to connect the bodice at the armpit seams, right sides together. Pink should be against pink, and black against black, as it is pinned on the left. The right side has not yet been sewn in this photo below. Stitch side seams together with a straight stitch.
5. Sew your waist band together with a straight stitch at the side seams. Lay your bodice out flat, and bring the bust flaps in to the centre. Pin the flaps together where they naturally meet. Attach the waist band by sewing it onto the bodice, right sides together, with a zig-zag stitch.
6. The skirt can be as long or as short as you desire. You could make it super short and use this as a mini dress pattern, or have it long like the maxi dress in the photo. The dress in the photo used a rectangular piece of lightweight jersey that was 42 inches long, and 65 inches wide. You must only use a lightweight knit fabric for the skirt or it will be too heavy for the pleats to retain their stretch. To get enough volume in the skirt, the width should be approximately 2, to 2.5 the width of the waistband. Sew your rectangle for the skirt in half to create a tube. Pin this tube to the bodice, right sides together at the front, back and sides. That way you know how much fabric needs to be pleated in each section. Pin the pleats before you start sewing. Your pleats should be approximately 1 inch in width, with a gap of 0.5 inches between each pleat.
7. Attach the skirt with a zig-zag stitch. Try it on before you hem the bottom of it because I have found that the weight of the material can sometimes cause the skirt to end up longer than you intended. Once you’re sure it’s the right length, hem it with a zig zag stitch.
Once you have made your maxi dress, go forth and be fabulous! If you have any questions or feedback about this tutorial, please leave me a comment and I will try to get back to you as soon as I can. If you do make this dress, please share your photos with me on my social media, I love to see what you guys can do!
