Make your own Christmas Dress

Learn how to make your own festive Christmas Dress

Why buy a Christmas dress when you can make your own? Making your own Christmas dress is a great way to save money during the holiday season, express your creativity, and you will have a unique holiday dress to wear for all the festivities.  This project is an easy way to use fabric scraps and make a head turning, eye catching, high spirited Christmas dress for your holiday parties.  After you make an ugly Christmas sweater, make your own flirty Christmas dress.

People will be so impressed that you made your own dress, so you will probably get a ton of compliments. I see you.  Plus, you will get that sense of satisfaction that you made it yourself!

Even if you’re a beginner sewer, you can do this!  Keep reading for tips on how to choose the right fabrics, create a pattern, and add embellishments to your dress too!

Supplies: 

Sewing Machine
Serger
Jersey Knit Fabric in red, white and black
Gold Metallic Fabric
Large Black Fancy Buttons
Measuring tape
Fabric Scissors
Straight pins

Make it:

First, measure and cut the red dress fabric.  You can use a pattern for a knit top and simply extend the length to create a dress.  TOP TIP: Cut it long and alter the length later.
Cut two, one for the front and one for the back; we we will mark the neckline, shoulders and waist later.

You can also add a hood when you make your own Christmas dress. The hood is on trend and it give the dress a casually hip but still festive look.  Cut the pattern for a basic hood. You will need to cut 4 pieces for the hood.

Next, measure and cut the white trim pieces for the hood, center front of the dress and cuffs.

For the trim on the center front of the Christmas dress, decide on the length you want the center trim to be. Typically it would be the length of your Christmas dress have it extend just past the waistline.

For the hood, cover the entire front opening with white trim, so you will need to measure the front of the hood for the length and cut it 5-inches wide.

For the sleeves, cut two pieces of trim for each sleeve out of your white fabric that are 5 inches wide by 15 inches long.

For the belt, cut 2 pieces of the black fabric for front and back waistline of the dress, this will be the belt portion of your Christmas dress. Since it’s not wrapping all the way around you will need to cut two pieces and match the sides.  It should be the width of your Christmas dress at the waistline, and as thick as you want the belt to be. This demo has the belt width at 6 inches with an 1 inch seam allowance on the top and bottom.

Once all the pieces are cut, lay your dress fabric flat and using your chalk pencil, mark the neckline, the waistline, and the center from area for the white trim.

Dress trim and belt placement:

Fold the center front trim piece in half lengthwise and serge the long edge. Turn it right side out so you have a tube. Press the tube flat with the seam down the back.

Turn in the raw edges and pin the center front piece of trim on the front side of the dress.  Starting from the neck line down and sew it in place.

Pin the black belt pieces in place folding the top and bottom raw edges under. Sew one piece to the front and one piece to the back of your Christmas dress.

With the right sides of the dress together, trim the sides, pin, and sew the side seams and the shoulders of the dress.

Making the hood:

With the right sides together, pin 2 pieces of the hood together and serge along the back side of the hood. Do the same with the other 2 cut hood pieces. You should have two hood shaped pieces now.

For the hood trim, measure  the length of the front opening of your hood and cut a piece that is that length with a 5 inch width. Fold that piece lengthwise and line it the raw edge of the white trim along only one section of the hood.

Pin it in place at the raw edge and topstitch only the folded edge on to the red hood. You will leave the raw edges pin and sew about 2.5 inches in from the edge along the fold.

The hood with the trim should be right side out, and with the second hood section inside out, place it over the top of the hood with the trim. The right sides of both sections of the hood should be facing each other.

Pin the edges in place and sew the front of the hood.

Turn the hood right side out.  Lay the white trim flat, smoothing out the finished edge, press, pin, and topstitch the hood.

To attach the hood to your dress, find the center back of the dress and center back of the hood and pin it around the neckline with the right sides facing each other.

Sew the hood to the dress. You can also serge the raw edges for a clean look.

Making the sleeves:

To make the sleeves, cut two 25” by 15” pieces of red dress fabric. TOP TIP: you can alter the sleeve length here if you need to make the sleeves longer or shorter.

To add the trim and create the cuff, fold one piece of the pre-cut white trim fabric on top of the short edge of the sleeve with the right sides together.  Pin at the raw edges. Do this on both sleeves and serge the white trim to the red sleeve.

Once the white trim is sewn on, fold the sleeve in half lengthwise with the right sides facing each other, and serge the long edge. Do this to both sleeves.

Back at your workspace, turn the sleeve right side out and with the dress inside out, put the sleeve into the dress. TOP TIP:  the right sides of the dress and the right sides of the sleeve should be facing each other when adding the sleeves.

Lining up the seam of the sleeve with the side seam of the dress, pin the sleeve to the armhole.

Sew the sleeves in place around the armhole.

Finishing the bottom of the Christmas dress:

Turn the Christmas dress right side out.

Now you can determine the length you want. Leave it long for a sleeker look or crop it short for a fun flirty look. Today we are going to cut the bottom of the dress just above the knees.

Fold a slight hem under, pin in place and sew a quick hem to give it a clean finish.

Adding trim to the bottom of the dress, fold a piece of white fabric in half so it’s about 5-inches wide and the length is the base of the bottom hem of your dress.

For an accent to the bottom trim, cut a piece of the gold fabric the same length and 2 inches wide.

Serge the white fabric to create a tube and serge the gold fabric in half.  Turn the white tube right side out and press the tube with the seam down the center. Press the gold piece flat.

Place the raw edge of the gold fabric under the top folded edge of the white trim, pin it in place along the edge. Sew the gold trim to the white base trim.

Lay the bottom fold of the white trim over the bottom hem of the dress, pin it in place and sew the bottom edge.

The top of gold portion of the trim should still be pinned in place, topstitch the top of the trim to the dress.

To finish:

Adding the final touches, cut a buckle shape from the gold fabric, measure the size of the belt to ensure the belt embellishment fits the look.

Pin the buckle embellishment on the center of the belt and topstitch it in place.

Add large black buttons down the center front.

You can also add white faux fur accents to the hood and cuffs or a blingy broche made from fabric scraps and costume jewelry to add to dress.

Pair your Christmas dress with opaque or fishnet stockings, black boots or sexy heels and a pair of black gloves or fancy rings and bracelets.

And there you have it, a Christmas dress that is sure to turn heads. If you’re looking for a festive and unique way to dress for the holidays, make your own Christmas dress! And you should probably get started on that Christmas hat too!

Making your own Christmas dress is a great way to show off your creativity and personal style. It’s also a fun and rewarding experience that will leave you feeling confident and beautiful. So next year, instead of buying a dress from a store, consider making your own.

Save some of those fabric scraps to make some simple holiday home decor too!

Check out Shop Jane now and don’t forget to get your Christmas shopping done for the domestic diva in your life!

Jane Clauss is a lifestyle expert, radio and television host.  She has a passion for all things holidays from tablescaping to decorating and fashion to food, Jane loves to get creative when it comes to making happiness homemade! Learn more about Jane here!

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