How to Make a Strapless Sun Dress

What makes a strapless sun dress very easy to make is the fact that it only has two pieces to it. Granted, the pieces can be designed in different ways, but there's still only two pieces needed for a strapless sun dress. There's the top piece and the bottom piece, and that's it.

When making a strapless sun dress, a good way to decide how wide to cut the top piece is to measure the bust and add a couple of inches. If you want an elasticized top on your strapless sun dress, with tiny elastic pieces every few inches, from top to bottom, you'll need to allow 7 inches in addition to the bust measurement. The elasticized top is great for holding your shape.

To decide on the length of the top, measure from underarm to waist. After cutting the top you'll want to shape it somewhat. Start by folding the top in half, with edges to one side and the fold on the opposite side. Start towards the center, with scissors, and barely shave a little fabric off. Continue towards the raw edges of the fabric, dipping lower and lower until you arrive at the edge. Fold the fabric in half again and make the same cut on the opposite side, using the first cut you made as the guide.

Decide which will be the front and which will be the back of the strapless sun dress. The seam for the shirt portion and the seam for the skirt portion should end up on the same side, though, so keep that in mind when cutting the skirt. On the back of the shirt part, continue cutting from where you stopped at the underarm area (side seam), on across the back, dipping the back down somewhat lower than the underarm area, but coming back up as you get to the opposite side. This will give you a deeper scoop in back than in front.

If you will be making an elasticized top do not scoop out the back and the underarm areas, as this will prevent your elastic from aligning correctly. For the elasticized top, lay the entire top piece out flat and use a yard stick to make lines, every two or three inches, from top edge to bottom. These lines represent the markings for the elastic. Hem the top edge. Stitch in 16th" elastic on each drawn line. The elastic should stop at least three inches from the waistline to allow for joining with the top. Set top aside.

If you're making the non-elasticized top, you'll still need one piece of elastic, a quarter-inch wide, to keep the top in place. Fold the top edge of the fabric over, align the elastic onto the edge of the fabric, then zig-zag into place.

For the skirt, measure the hips and add two inches. If you'll be putting elastic in the waist, add five to seven inches to the measurement, depending upon how taut you want the elastic. Cut the skirt to the desired length: mini, knee-length or floor-length. As you cut across the hem area, the back part should hang slightly lower, but come back up to meet the front piece, at the side seams. This allows a little extra length in the back, as with most women's dresses.

Hem the skirt part, then fold it in half and half again, so that the waist area has two folds. Mark the two folds with chalk, then mark the raw edge part of the waist with chalk. This will give you some points at which to align the skirt with the blouse.

Fold the blouse in half, then once again, making the same chalk marks at folds and raw edges. Pin the two pieces together, aligning all chalk marks, folds, and raw edges. Stitch across the two pieces, removing pins as you go along. If you want elastic, put it in before making the side seam. After side seaming, the dress is finished.

Combine different styles of tops and skirts to make many different strapless sun dress looks. Combine the elasticized top with a short skirt, then a knee-length. Or use the non-elasticized top with the floor-length and the mini. Add notions to make each design look different. And, you can easily add straps, too, by tacking on pieces of ribbon. It'll be a hot summer, but you'll be nice and cool in your handmade summer strapless sun dress.