Experience the bliss of staying warm and chic all winter long! This dress features a chunky turtleneck paired with a flirtatiously short length, and stylish dropped shoulders. Plus, it’s relaxed, not oversized, so it has enough room for thicker knits, making this dress the perfect choice for those brisk, chilly days where you want to shine.
Inspired by knitwear, this version is adapted for home sewing. To maximize the potential of this pattern, I suggest choosing a chunky sweater knit with a soft hand feel. It’s best to avoid stiffer knits and instead choose materials that drape on the body, creating a relaxed and slouchy effect.
Download the FREE PDF sewing pattern, and sew your own cozy sweater dress now!
1 cm (3/8″) seam allowance included!
Material
- 1.7 m (1 7/8 yd) chunky sweater knit with at least 30% of stretch
- All-purpose thread
- Stretch needle
- Roughly 1 m (1 1/8 yd) clear elastic, 0.5 cm (1/4″) wide
PLEASE NOTE! Fabric requirements are based on a width of 150 cm (59″). If your fabric is narrower, you may need more fabric!
Download the free PDF sewing pattern…
… and once you’re done, share a photo of you wearing proudly your new handmade dress with #unfetteredpatterns or tag us @unfetteredpatterns!
Need help to print your pattern? Check our detailed tutorial here! Also, find out how you can customize your pattern for A0 printers and projectors here.
Need help completing the project?
Check our Kofi store for printable sewing tutorials, including detailed sewing instructions, line sketches, a sizing guide, and a list of the materials needed!
Sizing Guide
This pattern is drafted according to the following body measurements. Standard height is 1.64 m (5.4 ft). Check this tutorial if you want to add sizes to your pattern!
| XS | S | S/M | M | M/L | L | XL | |
| Bust | 85 cm (33 1/2″) | 89 cm (35″) | 93 cm (36 1/2″) | 97 cm (38″) | 101 cm (39 1/2″) | 105 cm (41″) | 109 cm (42 1/2″) |
| Waist | 64 cm (25 1/2″) | 68 cm (27″) | 72 cm (28 1/2″) | 76 cm (30″) | 80 cm (31 1/2″) | 84 cm (33″) | 88 cm (34 1/2″) |
| Hips | 92 cm (36 1/2″) | 96 cm (38″) | 100 cm (39 1/2″) | 104 cm (41″) | 108 cm (42 1/2″) | 112 cm (44″) | 116 cm (45 1/2″) |
Finished garment measurements
Ease is included in the measurements below to make the garment larger than the body.
| XS | S | S/M | M | M/L | L | XL | |
| Bust | 118 cm (46 7/8″) | 122 cm (48 3/8″) | 126 cm (49 7/8″) | 130 cm (51 3/8″) | 134 cm (52 7/8″) | 138 cm (54 3/8″) | 142 cm (55 7/8″) |
| Length | 85 cm (33 1/2″) | 86 cm (33 7/8″) | 87 cm (34 1/4″) | 88 cm (34 5/8″) | 89 cm (35″) | 90 cm (35 5/8″) | 91 cm (35 3/4″) |
| Biceps | 35.4 cm (13 7/8″) | 36.6 cm (14 3/8″) | 37.8 cm (14 7/8″) | 39 cm (15 3/8″) | 40.2 cm (15 7/8″) | 41.4 cm (16 3/8″) | 42.6 cm (16 7/8″) |
Sewing Guidelines
Here are some tips we recommend for a successful sewing project:
Fit and style
- This dress is relaxed and should not feel oversized. Start by choosing a size with your bust. Then, if needed, widen or narrow the pattern at the hips if your hips correspond to another size. Refer to the body measurements chart.
- On the finished garment measurements chart, you can also check the length of the dress and see if it’s suitable to your height. You may want to compare the length with a similar piece of clothing. This dress should fall mid-thigh.
- If you need to shorten or lengthen the dress to achieve this look, slash the pattern above and below the hip notches. Slash perpendicularly to the grainline, and spread to add length, or overlap to shorten. When you spread the pattern, fill in the gap with scraps of paper. Tape everything back in place.
- You may repeat this adjustment in the bottom of the sleeve, however, adjust by half of the amount you added or removed on the body.
Fabrics
- Be sure that your fabric has the correct amount of stretch. For this style we recommend 30% stretch, which means that a section of 10 cm (4″) can be stretched to 13 cm (5 1/8″) without a problem. If you feel any tension in the fabric before you reach the measurement, it means that your fabric doesn’t stretch enough.
- On another note, if you notice that it doesn’t spring back to its original shape once you’ve stretched it, your fabric might not have a good recovery. This means that you might end up with a lot of wavy seams and a garment that is 3-4 sizes up at the end of the day.
Cutting out
- Preshrink the fabric before you start cutting it out. To do so, wash and dry the same way you would with the finished garment. This means you should also take into account the fabric type and its content.
- Once the fabric is washed and dried, press it to remove all the creases. Be sure that you’ve set your iron to a temperature that is suitable to the fabric. As a rule of thumb, synthetic fibers (acrylic, spandex, polyester…) should be pressed at low heat, and natural fibers (cotton, wool, linen…) should be pressed at high heat.
- When you’re ready to cut into the fabric, fold it lengthwise, right sides together. The fold should not twist and lay flat. If it’s twisting, unfold and fold again, until it lays flat. Then, place the pattern pieces so that the grainline is parallel to the selvages.
- Be sure that you don’t cut the notches too much, they should be about 0.3-0.4 cm long (1/8″).
Sewing
- If you’re using a sewing machine, be sure that it’s equipped with a stretch needle. A stretch needle has a rounder tip that prevents snags. If your machine is skipping stitches, the size of the needle may be too small, so be sure to have an assortment of needles with varying sizes.
- If your seams are very wavy, you might want to check for a walking presser foot for your sewing machine. On an overlocker, check to increase the differential or the stitch length.
- When you press your seams, press one section at a time, lifting the iron when going from one section to another. If you let the iron glide over the fabric, you might stretch out the seam.
- If the seams crack when stretched, be sure that you used a stretch stitch, and that the thread is all-purpose polyester, not 100% cotton. You may also reduce the thread tension. On an overlocker, reduce the tension of the needles, not the loopers, and reduce the differential or stitch length.
Good luck with your sewing project!
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