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How to sew an empire dress. Empire style dress pattern with flared sleeves: modeling the basic dress pattern

23:25 simon9589 2 Comments

In this article, we will model the basic design of the dress in order to get a dress pattern of a similar style.

To start determine the technical characteristics design of this dress. So, the dress has a high waist line at the level of the empire line, the chest darts are transferred to the waist line and are designed in the form of tucks. The hem of the dress is A-line and consists of three equal tiers. The sleeves of the dress are flared down and gathered at the cuffs. The neckline of the dress is finished with a stand-up collar, and some of the connecting seams are decorated with frills.
In addition, we will make our own changes to the style of this dress: we will add a small V-shaped neckline along the neckline, reduce the length of the shoulder, and we will flare the sleeves not from the rim line, but from the elbow line.

Well, the task is clear, now you can proceed to constructive modeling. Let's prepare a blank sheet of paper and the basic design of a semi-adjacent silhouette dress (I used a pattern built according to).


It remains to find out what an empire line is?
empire line- This is an overestimated waistline, which is located under the chest. The style of clothing tailored with an empire line waist is called empire style or empire style.

So, if our waist line should be located under the chest, then in this area we will have a reference point for the product, that is, our future dress should fit to the body along the Empire line. In the article about, we learned that for shoulder clothing, the supporting areas are the neckline, armholes and protruding points of the chest and shoulder blades, which means that if we simply transfer the waist line to the level of the empire line, then the waist transferred by us will still not be be a base. And why? - you ask. Because the concave section (or notch) from the protruding point of the chest to the waist line is not taken into account when building the basic design of the dress, and therefore there will be no fitting of the product at the level of the empire line. Therefore, we need to take into account this notch in order to achieve a preligation of the dress on the section of the Empire line, by introducing an additional breast tuck No. 4.

To build an additional chest tuck on the dress design drawing, you need to measure the radius of the chest and the size of the notch under the base of the chest (you can learn how to take these measurements correctly from). Now, on the shelf pattern, draw a circle with a radius equal to the radius of the chest, while the center of the circle should coincide with the center of the chest.


Let's build an additional chest tuck No. 4 from the center of the chest to the waist line, while the tuck solution is located on the circumference (you can see how to build a tuck correctly in the article about). I draw your attention to the fact that this tuck is not a tuck, it affects the shaping of the product under the base of the chest.


Let's draw an empire line of the waist, which will be located under the chest. To do this, set aside a value equal to the radius of the chest down from the chest line along the midline of the shelf. Draw a horizontal line to the right through the obtained point until it intersects with the line of the middle of the back. The constructed line is a new waistline for both the front and the back. If desired, the empire line can be lowered down by 1-2 cm.


Let's cut our patterns of the back and shelves along the new waistline.


Let's move on to modeling the bodice of the dress.


First of all, we will reduce the length of the shoulder, for this, in the drawing of the back and the shelf, we set aside the neck of an equal amount from the end shoulder point to the side. It is possible to reduce the shoulder length in the design of a dress with a set-in sleeve only up to 4 cm, I reduced it by 3 cm. Now let's draw the new lines of the armhole with smooth lines, connecting the obtained points with the control points of the armhole. Thus, we not only reduced the length of the shoulder, but also increased the line of the armhole.

(If desired, the shoulder line can be left the same by skipping this step).

In the design of our dress, the tucks on the shelf are decorated with tucks, so we will simply remove the outlined lines of the tuck tucks. On the back, we will transfer the solution of the tackle tuck to the side seam, setting aside its value along the new waist line from the side seam. Connect the resulting point with a concave line to the point of the armhole. note, we measure the new solution of the traveling tuck, which is on the empire line, its value is not too large, since this is part of the cut tuck.


Let's move on to modeling the bodice shelf. From the top of the chest tuck, lower the perpendicular to the empire line and cut the pattern along the intended line.


Now let's close the chest tuck by spreading the paper pattern of the shelf along the cut line.


At the neck, draw a V-shaped neckline. To do this, set aside 3 cm from the line of the middle of the shelf along the neck line, and set aside 18 cm down from the line of the neck along the middle line. We connect the obtained points 3 and 18 with a straight line. The constructed line is the neckline. If desired, the cutout can be deepened or, conversely, reduced.


Now we will cut out the shelf pattern along the new lines, put it on a blank sheet of paper and circle the shelf along the contours, not taking into account the lines of the chest tuck.


Let's lengthen the shelf in the tuck area by 0.3-0.5 cm so that we have a slight overlap, and draw the line of the bottom of the shelf with a smooth line,

This completes the modeling of the bodice shelf. If you want more folds on the shelf along the waist line, then you need to apply a conical expansion: draw one or two lines from the waist line to the shoulder cut, cut the shelf along these lines and push the pattern to the desired amount along the waist line, and then draw a new waistline, increasing the length of the shelf by 1-2 cm.

Modeling of the bodice of the dress is completed, we got these details of the back and shelves.

note, on the back we left a shoulder tuck, if desired, the tuck can be unmodeled, or transferred to any other cut.

For processing the neckline, we will use a straight undercut, the pattern of which is very easy to build. Let's prepare a blank sheet of paper and impose a pattern of the bodice shelf, which we circle along the lines of the bottom, middle, neck and shoulder. And then at a distance of 3-4 cm we draw lines parallel to the lines of the middle and the neckline.


Thus, we built a facing for processing a V-shaped neckline. The upper and lower cuts of the piping coincide with the connecting seams of the dress, which is very convenient - in the finished product, our piping will not fold back and “look out” on the front side.


Let's move on to modeling the skirt of the dress.


There are no waist tucks in the skirt of our dress, so if your basic dress design has an additional waist tuck, then it simply does not need to be taken into account, but at the same time, its solution along the empire line must be left, since it is not significant. Now, on the drawings of the back and shelves, we lower the vertical straight lines from the tops of the traveling tucks to the bottom line.


We cut the patterns of the back and shelves along the marked lines.


Now let's close the fitted tuck of the shelf along the lines of tuck No. 4, pushing the part of the shelf along the cut line. Let's measure along the bottom line the amount by which the shelf has moved apart. On the back, we will close only the solution of the tuck along the empire line, pushing the pattern along the bottom line by the same amount as the shelf pattern, while the tail tuck on the back will only partially close.


We will not take into account the remaining solution of the tackle tuck of the back.


After we transferred the waist tucks to the bottom cut of the dress, our waist lines were broken, so on a clean sheet of paper we will circle the back and front details around the office and draw new cuts along the waist line. Along the side line, we will draw the notch of the waist with smooth lines, and raise the bottom line on the back and on the shelf by 1-2 cm along the side seam and draw the lower cut with smooth lines, observing a right angle at the middle lines.


Now, having measured the length of the shelf along the middle line, we divide this line into three equal parts. From the points obtained, we draw lines to the side cut of the shelf parallel to the bottom cut, observing a right angle at the middle line. Then, to the side cut of the shelf, we attach the back detail with a side cut and mark the position of the lines we have outlined. From the points obtained, we draw lines to the midline of the backrest parallel to the lower cut, while the angle at the intersection with the midline should be straight.


Let's cut our patterns along the new marked lines.


This completes the modeling of the skirt of the dress, as a result we got three parts of the shelf and three parts of the back.


Let's move on to modeling the sleeve. To do this, prepare with an elbow tuck.


Since we reduced the length of the shoulder and widened the armhole, we need to increase the height of the sleeve. To find out how much to increase, we will measure the new height of the armhole of the front and back.


We add the measured values ​​​​and divide them in half, and subtract the desired coefficient from the result obtained, so we get the value of the height of the armhole for the new armhole of the dress. (We did the same when we built the sleeve structure, you can also find the necessary coefficient in it). Now, from the new height of the eyelet, we subtract the value of the previous height of the eyelet of the sleeve, the resulting difference is the required amount by which we need to increase the height of the eyelet of our sleeve. We set aside this value along the line of the middle of the sleeve up from the eyeline and connect the resulting point with smooth lines with the control points of the sleeve.

Attention ! If you did not change the length of the shoulder of the dress, then you skip this step.

Let's translate the elbow tuck into the line of the bottom of the sleeve, for this we lower the perpendicular from the top of the tuck to the bottom line.


Cut the sleeve pattern along the marked line.

And cut the sleeve pattern along these straight lines and along the elbow line.


Let's move the cut parts of the sleeve along the bottom line to the desired value so that the side sections of the sleeve remain connected, while the elbow line should also remain continuous (see Fig.)


Let's transfer the new contours of the sleeve onto a blank sheet of paper and draw the side cuts with smooth lines. Let's lengthen our sleeve by 5-10 cm, it is necessary to do this to form a sleeve lap at the wrist.


Let's build a cut of the sleeve, dividing the distance from the elbow cut to the middle line in half, from the resulting point we set aside 2 cm in the direction of the elbow cut. And we will draw a vertical straight line 10-12 cm long through point 2 from the bottom line of the sleeve. This completes the modeling of the sleeve, here is the pattern we should get.


For processing the lower cut of the sleeve, we will use a cuff, the pattern of which is very simple to construct. Let's draw a rectangle with a length equal to the measurement of the girth of the wrist + 3-4 cm per fastener, and a width equal to twice the width of the cuff (in my example, the cuff width is 1.5 cm, which means the width of the pattern will be 3 cm).


Now we are left build a stand collar pattern. It is just as easy to build it: let's draw a rectangle ABCD, in which the sides AB and SD are equal to the measure of the half-girth of the neck + 1 cm for a free fit (if you plan to fasten the collar with a button, then you need to add 3-4 cm to the clasp), and the sides AD and BC are equal desired collar width (in my example 2cm). We divide the sides AB and SD in half and denote the obtained points L and K. From the points B and C we set aside 0.5 cm upwards and connect the obtained points with the points L and K with straight lines.


And our collar pattern is ready!


This completes the modeling of the basic design of the dress, we have received a new model of an empire-style dress with flared sleeves. Our pattern consists of the following parts: front and back of the bodice, piping for the neckline, stand-up collar, three parts of the front of the skirt and three parts of the back of the skirt, as well as a part of the sleeve and cuff.

A dress pattern in a simple empire model is not very complicated, but still requires certain skills in modeling and sewing. If we consider the Empire dress model from a historical point of view, then it means a light dress made of muslin or cambric, certainly a light shade. No decoration and decorations - simplicity and naturalness. Now, of course, the model has undergone some changes, not without the help of modern designers such as Galliano. If in the classical understanding of the style only lantern sleeves appeared, then in a modern empire dress the sleeves can be long and three-quarters long, they may not be at all, or there may be straps. But the basic concept has remained unchanged.

Learning how to properly build an empire dress pattern

The following features remained characteristic of the Empire style:

  • A-silhouette. Fitted bodice, flared skirt
  • High waist, accentuated with a belt or ribbon with a bow
  • flowy skirt
  • Cropped bodice with different neckline
  • Light colored fabrics for sewing

Empire style dress will be appropriate in any season and at any event. Summer dresses in this style can be a little brighter than the generally accepted light, calm colors.

The midi length is the most comfortable and not defiant, it will be appropriate in the office and everyday life.

For a holiday and celebration, it is customary to choose the maximum length. The ribbon or belt can be embellished with rhinestones or pearls.

Many brides choose this style for a wedding dress, because it exudes innocence, and at the same time, sexuality.

Choosing the right accessories and jewelry for an empire dress can be difficult. They should only emphasize the beauty and elegance of the cut, not distract attention and harmonize with each other. As an option - a chiffon stole, lying freely on the elbows and a modest branch decoration in the hair. A clutch bag or pouch will complete the look. Shoes for an empire dress are suitable for both thin heels, with straps, and ballet flats or sandals. Platform shoes or rough soles are incompatible with such a dress - shoes also need lightness and grace.

You can sew such a dress with your own hands according to the proposed pattern with a detailed description. The main measurements that you need to take to start sewing a dress with your own hands:

  • neck girth;
  • shoulder length;
  • girth of the chest and above the chest;
  • girth of hips and waist;
  • length from back to waist;
  • length of the future dress.

The pattern of the dress itself is modeled on the basis of the pattern of the dress. The top of the dress is quite adjacent, so when building a base pattern, make an increase in the freedom of fitting one and a half centimeters.

pattern modeling

On the front half of the pattern and on the back of the base pattern and on the back of the dress, transfer the darts. They are shown in Fig.1 and Fig.3. Relief seams should be modeled along the lines of the tucks.

On the sides of the parts of the front and back of the dress, form a flare year. This is modeled as follows: 30 cm is deposited from the hips, flaring is performed as in Fig. 2 and Fig. 4, setting aside 15-20 cm for flaring. On the back of the dress, you need to make an extension of 10 centimeters, since a train is provided along the back.

A belt-bow is also provided, two meters long, half a meter wide. In finished form, it will be 7-8 centimeters, the rest of the length will go to draping.

From the main fabric you need to cut out the following details:

  • The middle part of the front - 1 piece with a fold
  • Side front - 2 parts
  • The middle part of the back - 2 parts
  • Side back - 2 parts
  • Belt - 1 piece (2 meters long, 50 cm wide)

The details of the lining repeat the pattern of the dress up to the waist. Additionally, you will need bones for the side seams and reliefs of the back of the dress.

How to sew.

  • Baste and stitch raised seams and side seams.
  • Side seam allowances, folded together, stitch at a distance of 0.7 cm from the seam. Lay a line from the top of the bodice to the waist line of the dress. Insert a bone into the resulting drawstring, it should be 1 centimeter shorter than the drawstring. To prevent the bone from falling out, you need to re-stitch the drawstring along the top and along the waistline of the dress.
  • Stitch a hidden zipper down the back.
  • Sweep the lining of the year dress, side and embossed seams.
  • Fold the lining with the dress right sides together, sweep and stitch along the top and zipper braid.
  • Turn the dress right side out and sweep the top clean. Iron.
  • Process the bottom of the lining and baste with hidden stitches to the seams.
  • Bend the belt and stitch along the edge. Tie a belt on the dress, drape on the sides, grab the drapery with hidden stitches along the relief seams. Tie a bow on the back, hem the bottom of the dress.

You can make this model on knitting needles and crochet. Techniques are usually combined - part is knitted, and part is crocheted. Then the dress turns out to be airy, light and openwork.

Empire dress is a very versatile outfit. It will suit any girls. Both skinny and overweight. It gives femininity, visually lengthens the legs. Distinctive features of this dress are: high waist, deep neckline and flowing hem.

The process of tailoring an empire dress

On the fabric for the dress, any light and flowing material is suitable. You can take silk, chiffon or even thin knitwear. You can also decorate the dress with a little lace or embroidery.

From the prepared fabric you need to cut out two rectangles. The first rectangle should be equal to the length of the bodice, and the width is equal to the girth of the chest, and adding about 9-10 centimeters more. And the second rectangle will be equal to the length of the dress from the bodice, but the width of the girth of the chest, while still multiplied by two.

At the very beginning, the bodice is processed. Fold it in half and stitch the seam. You need to process the seam with a zigzag seam. And iron on one side. Sew. Do not forget to leave a hole through which you can later thread a beautiful braid.

The fabrics of the skirt are processed in the same way as the bodice. At the top edge, baste and tuck to the width you need. The skirt is sewn to the bodice. Sections are processed on an overlock, if you do not have one, then a zigzag seam will do. And then a braid is attached to this seam.

The bottom of the dress is hemmed. To do this more carefully, put the dress on someone. So it will be easier.

You can decorate the top of the bodice with thin lace. Under the bust, a satin or silk ribbon is quite suitable.

In the wardrobe of a modern fashionista, it is simply necessary to have a dress or blouse in the Empire style. After all, such an outfit gives elegance and femininity, helps to stand out and attract admiring male glances. This is a great opportunity to learn how to make patterns for empire dresses.

Basics of compilation

You can make the basis of the dress quickly, you just need to know the basic proportions. Once having formed the basis of the pattern, it can be used for various images, leaving the central part unchanged - the cutting line under the bust - the fundamental detail of the empire dress (empire line). And you can experiment with both top and bottom. For example, you can make such a classic top with short sleeves, as in this pattern:

The cut of the skirt here is a trapezoid; according to such a pattern, you can sew a flying summer dress made of chiffon or silk. Or, if you make a classic formal dress with a straight silhouette and a flared bottom of the dress, which gives a special majesty and grace, then here is the main pattern:

For the basis of all your empire dresses, you need to take the following pattern:

Below in the video you can see how to make a basic pattern.

Origin of style

It is interesting to observe the historical origin of this trend. The Empire style was born in France under Napoleon, although such high-waisted dresses were in vogue among ancient Greek beauties. It means "empire" in translation. This is a style imposed by the authorities, which was created in order to further exalt the emperor and his entourage. In the dresses of that time, as in the empire architecture, an elongated silhouette prevailed, reinforced with a particularly long train at the back in proportion to the length of the bodice and skirt as 1:7 from the back. Under the bust at the high waist, the dress was intercepted with a belt, the neck and arms were left open, with the exception of a small sleeve falling from the shoulders, as in these pictures:


And in this photo, a modern evening dress is beautifully presented, similar to the time of Bonaparte:

We create beautiful models

The Empire style is unlikely to go out of fashion, it is so interesting for both casual wear and formal wear. And the flaws of the figure, on occasion, can be hidden, to give innocence to your appearance, along with sex appeal. Having decided on the chosen image, specifying the style of the bodice, sleeves and skirt, you can start modeling the main pattern of the empire dress.

Here are some examples of dresses that you can choose as casual:



The following patterns apply to them:

And this charming two-layer dress with a chiffon top will be irreplaceable in summer, it is very romantic and airy:

It can be done like this:

Now lace dresses are in fashion, and what a wonderful red short dress you can create by using an empire high waist, an American armhole and a flared skirt! In this dress you can conquer any man:

Here are more options for empire dresses with patterns:


And what mistakes should be avoided when cutting out a dress with a high waist, you can see in this video

You can also make such an elegant dress with your own hands for a beginner in sewing, if you choose a simple style. For example, there is a simple way to make an evening dress from two cuts of flowing fabric, such as this incomparably graceful creation:

Brief job description

We cut out the first rectangle with a greater width than the chest circumference, not less than 10 cm (to create a gathering). Choose the length as you wish - this will be the bodice. The second rectangle is for a skirt with a width twice the chest girth, and the length depends on the chosen finished dress. We make the bodice: fold the rectangle in half and lay a line, process it with an overlog and iron it on one side so that the fabric is folded inside out along the upper edge. Now you need to stitch, not forgetting to leave a hole for the braid.

You also need to stitch and overlog the rectangle for the skirt. On the upper edge it is necessary to sweep and pull off to the size of the lower edge of the bodice. Baste the skirt to the bodice, sew, process the cut, sew an elastic band to the seam from the inside. Then process the bottom of the skirt, after trying on and specifying the length. Pick up lace and sew it along the upper cut of the bodice, you can also sew it along the line under the bust, or make a belt from a satin ribbon.

In this video you can learn how to cut a simple dress in antique style:

Note to knitting lovers

The aforementioned style, which has come to the court of modern fashion, can be perfectly applied to those needlewomen who knit with knitting needles to their products. Indeed, from fine yarn you can make any kind of openwork texture to give special elegance to such, for example, dresses:


And here is an elegant warm dress, the same Empire style, but how out of place here!

Usually an empire dress is presented as a 19th century outfit, but we have a pattern of an empire dress. Empire style. This means that the dress inherited only one distinctive feature of the Empire style - a high waist.

High waist, detachable bodice, front pleat, long and narrow sleeves, short length are the distinctive features of the Empire pattern. Back length about 100 cm.

Like many other models, the Empire dress pattern is made for knitwear, jersey and other stretchy fabrics. Such a narrow sleeve can only be sewn from them. And the crease on the front, of course, drapes better from such materials.

The processing of some sewing knots is unusual, but both experienced and novice dressmakers can do it.

Remember that when sewing stretch fabrics, we use a narrow zigzag or double stitch for seaming.

Cutting the details of the empire dress, additional details and allowances for seams

The pattern of the Empire dress is built without seam allowances. We will independently add 1 cm to the cuts and 2 cm to hem the bottom and sleeves.

The neck of the back can be finished with a hem, as shown in the picture, or with a piping. For the first processing option, we will add an allowance of 1.5 cm, for the second we will not make an allowance.

Empire dress sewing technique

We sweep the neck of the back twice inside out by 0.7 cm and fasten it with a finishing line to the edge.

We fold the details of the bodice with the front sides, sweep along the middle cut and grind. We iron the allowances, turn the bodice on the face and iron it. We sweep the edges of the parts, equalizing the cuts.

On the bodice and in front of the dress we transfer control marks from. In front of the dress, fold it face inward and stitch a one-piece loop (protrusion) from the top to the first mark. Notch allowances to the end of the line without reaching them 0.2 cm. Turn the loop on the face.

You will be interested in a pattern of a dress with long sleeves.

Baste the bodice to the empire dress from the front side, combining the reference marks. Attach bodice. Fold the belt loop in half lengthwise, apply a stitching mark from the pattern, lay a line as long as on the pattern, lay the top of the belt loop so that the seam and line are in the middle and above each other, secure with an auxiliary machine line.

Sew the loop on a typewriter from the inside of the empire dress to the seam of the bodice, overcast and iron the allowances.

Baste and stitch the shoulder seams of the dress, overcast and iron on the back.

On the back, front and sleeves of the dress, transfer control marks from the pattern, tuck the sleeves into the armholes, aligning the marks. Overcast seam allowances and iron the seam.