Have you read my recent blog post where I created a dress for Prince Harry & Meghan’s wedding? (No, I did not attend, it was for a contest.) If not you can check it out here. That project inspired me to recreate another Kate Middleton dress. I love Kate Middleton’s style. It’s elegant, classy & fashionable. And when she presented prince Louis to the world, her outfit was nothing less than perfect. Throughout the years, one of the many ways that Kate Middleton continues to honor Princess Diana’s memory is through her fashion. The redshift dress she wore on this day was similar to the dress Princess Di’s wore when she left the hospital with Prince Harry. Want to learn how to make it, continue to read my blog post below!

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How to Create a Shift Dress with a Peter Pan Collar

Materials

• 2 yards of fabric
• Matching thread
• 1/4 yard lace

Below are the pieces I cut out for this dress. If you’d like to learn how I create my own patterns, read my blog post here.

Steps to Sew Your Shift Dress

1. Trace and cut out your sewing pattern. Once it’s cut out, lay your pattern pieces out on the fabric like I’ve shown in the sketch above. To cut out your FRONT and BACK pieces, you’ll want to make sure you fold both sides of the fabric towards the middle so they almost touch. By doing this you’ll be able to cut both the FRONT and BACK pieces on the fold.
2. (Red Dots) Next, take the FRONT and BACK pieces and pin them right sides together. Sew them together at the shoulders.
   (Orange Dots) Next, sew along the sides of your FRONT and BACK pieces to join the dress together.
3. (Yellow Dots) Take your NECKLINE LINING piece and sew with right sides facing together. Repeat this step for your lace collar. Both pieces should form a circle.
   (Green Arrow) Lay the LACE COLLAR on your dress and pin. The right sides of both fabric will be facing out.
4. With right sides facing together, pin your NECKLINE LINING to your LACE COLLAR, matching up the seams. Sew around the entire neckline to attach the NECKLINE LINING and LACE COLLAR to your dress.
5. Trim the excess of the LINING and COLLAR and iron the seam allowance towards the LINING. To secure the seam allowance to the LINING, add a top stitch to your collar. (Do not include the lace in this stitch)
6. Fold your LACE COLLAR up and sew a straight stitch around your entire neckline. This will help the collar lay flat and secure. Once this stitch is completed, fold your LACE COLLAR down so it lays on the front on your dress.
7. (Teal Dots) Sew the bottom part of your SLEEVE together. Once this is done, attach your SLEEVES to your dress. With right sides together, line up the top of your SLEEVE with the shoulder seam and pin your SLEEVE to the FRONT and BACK of your dress. Sew to attach the SLEEVE to your arm.
8. (Blue Dots) Finally, hem your SLEEVE and DRESS to your desired length and you’re done!