A DIY Open Shoulder Dress Tutorial using African Printed Fabric

Hey everyone! For this dress I used 2 yards of the Slate White African Print. 

First I folded the fabric in half length wise and then I folded it a second time. This time it wasn’t folded completely in half because I wanted to use some of the fabric in the middle for the sleeves.

I placed a dress that fits me on the fold and traced out the neck and arm hold shape and made a straight line extending from the arm hole.

I cut everything out and on the front piece, I made the neckline and armhole a bit deeper.

For the sleeves, first choose a point where u want them to start. Then on your body measure around your arm from that point on the front to the back.It’s a bit of a trial and error. You might have to change it so its better to cut a bit extra. Then on a folded fabric choose the length of the sleeves and mark the width. All together the width will be 14”+ 1” seam allowance.

Then use the body armhole shape to cut the armhole of the sleeves. Make it however long you want. Use needle and thread to gather the 14” top to your arm measurement from earlier

I also cut 2 long rectangles that I connected to add as ruffles to the bottom of the dress.

Sewing:

This is optional but I added 2 small darts on both piece to add shaping. This dress isn't going to have a closure. Then face the front sides together and sew the shoulders and side seams. For the ruffles, face the right side of the rectangle fabric to the right side of the dress. Then pin them together and add ruffles evenly while you sew them together. Sew the side seam of the sleeves and then attach it to the armhole.

Finishing:

Make couple of bias bindings from the excess fabric (basically a long 1.25”-1.5” wide fabric cut on bias) Use that to finish the neckline and open shoulder raw edges.

And you are done! :)

Check out these step by step tutorial videos from our dear friend Oaishe featuring our African Print Fabric to make this gorgeous dropped shoulder coat. Enjoy!