How I Made A $1 Shift Dress With Patch Pockets

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The shift dress is a short, loose fitting dress that looks good on anyone. It can be styled as a corporate look or a casual look depending on your choice. For this shift dress, I wanted a casual look so I used an African print and then a black fabric for the patch pockets. It's a very easy dress to make and requires little sewing knowledge because it's basically a straight dress. The pockets are aesthetically pleasing and what girl doesn't like pockets in her dress?

How It's Made

As usual, I marked my measurements on the wrong side of the fabric. I marked my shoulder width, neckline, armhole, bust, waist and hip circumference, and the length of the dress.

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Then I cut out the front and back pieces. I also cut the exact thing on a black lining fabric but you can do without lining it if you wish. I made sleeves for the dress too.

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I drew a rectangle 12 by 10 inches for the patch pockets and sewed them on the front piece of the dress. Ironing is very important to get a neat finish.

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For the front neckline, I took a depth of 5 inches and made a 3 inches slit at the middle further down for my head to pass through.

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And for the back neckline, I used 1½ inches for the depth.

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I finished off by attaching the sleeves, closing the side seams and the hem.

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I spent a total of 6 hours, eating, chatting and watching movie in between so you could do it for shorter. Making this myself is also very budget friendly because I spent a little over $1 as opposed to spending about $10 on online stores.

Here's the final look. Could be worn with flats or heels if you want to look dressier.

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Thanks for reading!



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30 comments
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I love your creativity @wolfofnostreet, I love pockets but I don't really know how to fix it on my dress but going through your post now, I think I will give it a try on my next dress.

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Oh yes you should.

Thanks for your comment

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You are welcome... Keep up your creativity.

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If you make dresses or skirts with side seams, you can often make a side pocket. Especially if the fabric isn't too thin., like cotton. Try and look for videos for that.

I have a friend that often makes side pockets in bought clothes if there weren't any pockets before.

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That's really a good idea I should try. I've never thought of fixing pockets in already made clothes before.

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It always amazes me how creative you are. I believe you can create everything you want. Well done!

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Looks great. Lining is a really good idea, improves comfort and appearance :)

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Thank you!

I like lining a lot, hides all the rough edges

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Cute dress with a cheerful fabric! And yes, pockets are important. Men often make jokes about women not going out without a purse - but did you notice that men's clothes tend to have more pockets than women's clothes? And all too often pockets at dresses or skirts aren't very useful to really put things in it.

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Ah yes..women's pockets are usually for designs but we also like functional pockets. Finding dresses with pockets always make me happy.

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Wonderful dress and the pattern of the fabric suits you so well. And I loooove you with glasses - you look very chique with them 😍 I am always amazed how you make these well fitting garments, believe me if I would try it would look very different :-DDD But I will try to copy the neckline style you used with the slit for a dress I am currently working on (I still have hope it will fit :-DDD), the slit is a good idea to spare a buttonband or zipper. And your neckline looks so polished <3

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Thanks for your sweet words 😊

For fitting, I follow tutorials to the T. There are so many tutorials on this type of dress, I could give you YouTube links if interested.

I have hopes your dress will fit nicely too. Ironing will make the neckline sit nicely and don't forget to make little notches around the V area of the slit when you're done sewing.

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Hi...What a nice smile you have. How well you look in the dress, with your explanation you show us that it is simple. I love the detail of the pockets. Thanks for sharing. Greetings

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I loved it, especially the part about saving money by making the dress yourself haha. That's the best of all. ❤️

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I like its simplicity. 💕 And it really looks so easy and i really have to learn sewing on the shoulder side. I mean the sleeves, I wanted to try it on my own without the help of my mom since she's also far away and can't visit her. God bless you @wolfofnostreet..☺️

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Thank you! You could search how to sew a sleeve on YouTube. Practice makes perfect. It took me several trys to get it right.

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Looks beautiful!! Are fabrics affordable there, imported? In Cambodia, sometimes we could get good deals buying scraps from the local tailor shops.

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There are expensive and affordable fabrics. I'm not sure if this one is imported or not but it was quite cheap for $3 for six yards

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Wow that's the kind of dress my grandma likes to wear but yours prettier!

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