Designing a dress doesn’t need to be as complicated as you might think, though this process can require some practice and patience to get it right. Learning how to design a dress is a valuable skill for those who want to add a personal touch and unique style to their outfits, and anyone is able to add this skill to their arsenal.
Our guide gives you some important things to consider before you start your dress design in addition to the basic steps for designing a dress to help you get started.
Considerations for Dress Designing
As you start to think about designing a dress, there are a few things you should keep in mind. These considerations help you narrow down the type of dress you want to design based on where you plan to wear it and your dress preferences.
Season
The season that you plan to wear your dress the most can play an important factor in the overall design of your dress. For example, if you want to wear a dress in summer, you may be more interested in designing a casual and flowing summer dress.
On the other hand, fall and winter styles may feature longer sleeves and longer skirts for your dress. Seasonal trends can also help determine the color of fabric you use for your dress design.
Occasion
The occasion you plan to wear your dress to is equally as important as the season for your dress, as you will want to ensure that the dress you are designing is event-appropriate and meets any dress code requirements. This means you might need to design an evening dress for more formal occasions or celebrations, or you could end up designing a mini dress for casual events. You can browse online evening dress collections to get some design inspiration, and can even purchase any you really love to examine how it was made first-hand.
Style
The style of your dress is more of a personal thing to think about, as some who are designing a dress may prefer strapless styles, while others may prefer long sleeves. Think about what you feel most comfortable wearing, and take the time to review dress inspiration online or in fashion magazines to narrow down your style choices for your dress.
Fabric
Choosing a fabric for your dress is a vital decision before you get started with designing, as some fabrics are more difficult to work with than others.
You should think about the many fabrics and layers of fabric you might need to create your dress as a starting point for your design. Make sure you look up how to handle each fabric properly to avoid wasted fabric and stress as you design and create your dress.
Basic Steps for Designing a Dress
The following steps are a basic guide for designing a dress. Once you complete one step and feel confident with your work, you can move on to the next until you have designed and created your own dress.
- Gather ideas – this could be through watching runway models, looking through magazines, or browsing social media; any idea can help spark inspiration for your dress design.
- Sketch your dress – creating a sketch of your dream dress is a helpful way to solidify your ideas and start to think about the tangible parts of putting your dress together. Your sketch doesn’t need to be perfect, just enough to give you an idea of where to start.
- Create pattern pieces – you can utilize a pattern from a store or online, or you can trace your own pattern onto your chosen fabrics. Cut out these pattern pieces and make sure they fit your measurements before the next step.
- Sew your dress – you can hand sew your dress or use a sewing machine as needed to combine all of your measured pattern pieces and bring your dress design together.
- Make adjustments – once you have your dress sewn together, you can hang it up or place it on a mannequin and make adjustments. You may want to try it on at this point to ensure it fits and doesn’t need to be altered.
- Add embellishments – put the final touch on your dress by adding final layers and embellishments like embroidery, sequins, and jewels or gems as needed.
Once you complete all of these steps, you will have a dress that you designed and created from start to finish. Make sure to take your time with each step to avoid accidents or the need to start one step over.
Styling and Designing Your Dress
Designing your own dress can be a fun activity, and many individuals love the idea of creating their own evening dress or other dress to wear for their next activity. Gather ideas and take your time sketching and thinking about your dress design before you create it to ensure that the finished product is something you will want to wear over and over again.