Ever since I posted the maxi infinity dress I sewed to wear to my sister’s wedding, I’ve been meaning to share a more detailed account of how I made it. In my original post I linked to some tutorials that I found helpful in making my dress, but here’s a rundown of what I did.
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The cutting diagram, below, isn’t to scale, but should give a you a sense of how to cut the pieces. I’ve seen the original infinity dress billed as a “one-seam” dress, and though this version requires four seams, it’s still pretty simple to put together.
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| Piece | My Measurements |
Adjustments |
| A Straps |
10″ by 90″ | You’ll probably want the straps to be 9-12″ wide, depending on your bust size, and it’s typically recommended to make them a length of 1.5 times your height, which would be about 104″ for me. I did this initially, but they were too long, so I ended up shortening them after I took the above photos. It’s a lot easier to subtract length than add it, though! |
| B Skirt body |
35″ by 40″(length) | To adjust the length for your height, measure from your waist to however long you want the skirt to be, and add an inch. |
| C Waistband |
10″ by 22″ | 10″ wide, by your waistband measurement minus 5 inches. You might need to adjust this depending on how much stretch your fabric has. |
Cut 2 of A, 2 of B, and one of C (it’s shown being cut with the fabric doubled, but you only need one piece.)
I used 3.5 yards of very stretchy jersey knit, sewed all of the seams with a long zigzag stitch, and I left the edges unfinished.
1. Place the two pieces of B right sides together, and sew the side seams. You’ve now created the skirt body.
2. On the top edge of the skirt body, sew two rows of loose basting stitches. Pull to gather, distributing the gathers evenly, until the top edge matches the measurement you used for C (your waist measurement minus 5 inches).
3. Fold C right sides together, and sew the short ends together. This will create a loop of fabric 10″ wide. Fold this loop of fabric lengthwise, wrong sides together, so you now have a loop 5″ wide. This will be your waistband.
Now for the assembly:
4. Overlap the two A pieces by 7 inches (you might want to vary this based on your bust size), and place them right-side down on the skirt body, lining up the overlapped edges with the gathered top edge of the skirt body. Pin in place.
5. Line up the raw edges of the waistband with the top gathered edge of the skirt body, aligning the waistband seam so it’s hidden by one of the front straps. Pin everything in place.
6. Now carefully sew around the top edge of the skirt body.
For anyone wondering how to make a maxi infinity dress, I hope this is helpful! Let me know if you have any questions, or if anything is unclear. If you make one, I’d love to see it!
Where did you come up with 35″ for the waist on the pattern? You didn’t really say and I think it’s the only one you didn’t explain.
LauraC, that length will be gathered to match the width of the waistband piece (C). So its size isn’t super critical, but it’ll affect how full your skirt is. My waist piece is about 22″, and since there are two of B I gathered 70″ (35″x2) to match this. If your waist piece is way bigger or smaller or you just want less skirt fullness you might want to adjust this, otherwise it’s pretty forgiving.
Hope this helps!
Hi, I am still confused about the 35″
I am 61″ tall..and measured the skirt length to be 29″ (from my waist to feet)… but what does this mean for the width?
My waist is 28″…
Best, Julie
I’m about to try my hand at this, but had a few questions as I’m a novice when it comes to sewing apparel… Did you cut your pieces with the direction of the stretch in mind? Did you have any problems with the straps unraveling from all the stretching? Lastly, I’m making this as a maternity dress, I figured lengthening the skirt and wearing the waist at “empire waist” level would do the trick, but can you think of anything I should alter to make that work? Thanks so much!
Ok I am trying to make this dress and i am confused on some things,
With sewing a stretch material what thread did you use. I am running in to the issue of the thread ripping out even with the polyester thread that is supposed to have a little give in it.
Also did you pleat the bottom? I dont quite understand what you meant by gathered?
With the unfinished ends is the fabric rolling? I couldnt find double sided jersey material sadly so i am using a stretch knit.
The skirt piece are there two square material pieces you had to sew together?
I am kind of slow at this sewing stuff so please bare with me.
Hello there – this is exactly what I’ve been looking for! I can’t wait to make it – thanks for sharing it!!
Are you using inches or centimeters for the measurement?