The infinity dress is one of the most comfortable, versatile and stylish dresses. Me Made May 2015 inspired me to create some clothes for myself. I sew regularly but since my wedding dress (which I altered) I haven’t done any sewing for myself. Doing a quick search for infinity dresses on on Google reveals them selling around $100. I paid $45 for my material (a jersey knit), I was fussy with my colour and I wanted my fabric ASAP so if you kept your eye out you’d be able to cut the cost down (minus shipping I’d have paid $35) I bought my fabric from: The Remnant Warehouse.
There are a number of infinity dress tutorials around:
- http://www.projectwedding.com/ideas/127629/infinity-convertible-or-wrap-twist-dress
- https://seecatecreate.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/how-to-make-an-infinity-wrap-dress-this-will-blow-your-mind/
- http://sewlikemymom.com/little-red-infinity-dress-tutorial/
- https://tallerthanthou.wordpress.com/2010/04/19/convertible-dress/
BUT I decided to make my own tutorial anyway…
The infinity dress is very simple to make, and very forgiving on mistakes. It consists of:
- Two straps
- A waistband (3cm wide elastic)
- Skirt (length of skirt up to you, I went with floor length)
- Strapless bandeau top (optional)
Items you need:
- Fabric (see instructions for length) you’ll need a stretchy fabric, mine was a blend of viscose and spandex, and it has a slight shine to it. Go for something with at least 40% stretch, with both sides the same; you can get any polyester or blend.
- Scissors
- Pins
- Sewing Machine
- Measuring Tape
- Baking Paper or Tracing Paper
My fabric was 1.5metres wide by 5metres long.
As a starting point I decided where I wanted the waist of the dress to sit, for me this was just above my natural waist (narrowest point). I then measured around my waist, this measurement. Following this I measured from the top of my waist measurement to the floor for the length of my skirt. You also need to know your height. You need your height to determine the length of the straps.
Measurements (mine):
- Waist: 77cm
- Skirt length (from waist – floor): 112cm
- Strap length (height times 1.5): 250cm
- Strap width: 30cm (this is approximately your waist measurement divided by 2.5, you can round it to a whole number. So for me this was so 77/2.5=30.8cm, I rounded down to 30cm because it’s easy to work with
I was hoping for a full circle skirt, however I did not work out my measurements prior to purchasing my fabric. And because I didn’t wish to gather my skirt at the waist I didn’t want to use two rectangles. Therefore I cut out two trapezoids by cutting off the top of the triangle to fit around my waist. So my layout for cutting out my fabric was as follows:
What I should have done before cutting out my triangles was grabbing a pencil and string, measuring out where the top of the triangle would have been, starting at this point and heading to the middle of the bottom of the skirt, then using them as a compass to make the bottom of the skirt into a circular shape, as I had to fix up the bottom as it sat with the two sides dragging on the ground with quite some length and so being much longer than the middle.
However if you wish to you can cut out two rectangles for the skirt and gather the top side of them to fit around your waist.
Ideally if you have enough material cutting out two semi circles would work best, I would have needed 7metres. This will give you quite a gathered skirt, however with stretch material it drapes quite nicely. Here is a diagram for this:
The following instructions are for the trapezoid skirt without the bandeau, if you wish some instructions on the circle skirt or with the bandeau let me know.
*Just a note with cutting out the pieces: with the two skirt trapezoids, cut the waist a little narrower (so your trapezoid will be a little longer and the top of the trapezoid will be shorter in length) than your measurements as this is stretch fabric and you can always trim down the top if it’s too tight.
Step 1.
Once you have all your pieces cut out you will need to stick the two skirt pieces with right sides together and sew the two side seams, you will be doing the seams on the inside-side of the skirt (side that will be against your body when wearing the skirt). Now turn the skirt back to the right sides facing out and try it on for size. If it fits good around your waistline you can move on to step 3, otherwise continue on to step two
Step 2.
If the waistline is too narrow, cut a little off the top so that it is slightly wider. On the other hand, if it is slightly wide, you can turn the skirt inside out again and then take in one of the side seams slightly.
Step 3.
Fold the waistband in half so that it is half the width (for me from 15cm to 7.5cm, with right sides facing outwards. Sew a seam on the bottom open-ended side. On your sewing machine use a zigzag stitch so that it can be stretched.
Step 4.
Now you are going to join your dress all together find the center back and front of skirt (place the side seams together and fold in half this way). At the center front (doesn’t really matter which side you choose as front) place a pin to mark the center point. Grab the two straps; work out how much you want them to overlap by, (smaller size slightly less, larger size slightly more, but you still want the strap to be able to wrap around the back slightly for side coverage). My straps overlap by 7cm, so I measured 3.5cm on one strap (you can put a pin here marking this point), I made sure the right side of the strap was touching right side of skirt. And then pin this strap to the waistband, from center (3.5cm overlap of center point) around until it stops. It should go past the side seam of skirt. Do the same with the second strap, making sure it is overlapping the center point 3.5cm the other way so that there is a total overlap of 7cm. For clarification see diagram.
Step 5.
Pin on the waistband, over the straps right side with seam facing outwards. You will want the ends of the waistband to be in the front center (so it is hidden by the straps) and the seam pinned with the straps and waistband.
Step 6.
Once pinned, sew the skirt, straps and waistband together. Do not join the center seam in the waistband, as you will need this open to insert the elastic.
Step 7.
Insert your elastic through the waistband. I’d suggest once elastic is in position, pin the ends together and try the dress on and make sure the elastic is firm enough to give support around the waist. Then you can sew the elastic together (make sure you have an extra 4cm so that you can overlap the two ends of elastic and sew together with a zigzag stitch and sew it in a cross shape. See diagram.
Step 8.
You can sew together the seams of the waistband. I however have left them undone, as it gives me a little more variety and helps when wearing the infinity dress.
Step 9.
Try your completed dress on; try out some different styles and enjoy!
There are many more ways you can style the dress – just try it out. The sky really IS the limit. If you’re looking for inspiration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z1VqoQqXHw
My styles provide a little more coverage than the video. You’d be able to modify the video by missing out some of the twists and going for spreading out on the back, and reducing the length of your dangled part of the straps. Happy styling!
Note: I was wearing a strapless bra. If you’re wanting to wear a bra you can choose a strap option that ensures bra coverage, or you can go without, alternatively you can add the bandeau in – just a small strapless top part underneath the straps.
Happy Sewing!
Simple Musings 