You don’t have to break the bank to look great for the Holidays. DIY-ing a Holiday dress is much more simple that you can imagine. All you need is some stretch Velvet fabric, a simple pattern and a little imagination. I’m going to show you 3 great patterns, perfect for customizing that can be made in 2 hours or less. 

 

A Classic Dress Pattern

This first pattern is an oldie but a goodie. I’m pretty sure almost every sewist has this one in their stash. It’s McCalls M6886. It’s a simple knit dress pattern that has 6 different views. It’s out of print but if you Google it, you can find it on places like Etsy and Ebay. 

The Mods

This dress is made in a stretch velvet fabric I found at Joann Crafts. For the dress I did ¾ length sleeves, a side slit and triangle shaped ties at the waist. Why Triangle shape? Well, after I was done cutting out the dress I had triangle shaped leftover fabric scraps. Not wanting to waste any of this gorgeous fabric, I decided to turn them into ties.

A Dress or Two Piece Set Pattern

Simplicity 8982 is a fantastic pattern for those that want their sleeves to be a little “Extra.” It is a dress or two-piece top and skirt. It has straight or cuffed sleeve options. 

The Mods

This Dress is also made with stretch velvet from Joann. For this dress I did the cuffed sleeve but I only made the cuff half as long as the pattern called for. I also lengthened the view A dress by 4 inches to a maxi length. I had a long strip of fabric left that I turned into a belt. 

A Size Inclusive Dress Pattern

This final dress is from an independent pattern company called Love Notions. This is the Tessa Sheath dress. This pattern is very similar to M6886 except it’s a digital pattern that comes in sizes xs -5x. You don’t pay extra to get all the sizes either. The entire size range comes with your purchase.

The Mods

This dress is the knee length view. Once again, it’s made out of stretch velvet from- you guessed it- Joann. There were a couple years in a row when they got gorgeous velvet around the Holidays.  I wanted a little bit extra with the sleeves so I chose to do the slash and spread method and add a little cuff. You can learn about that here as well as how to add some ties. I only had a little bit of fabric left so I made a belt to go with it. 

No velvet? No Problem!

Now I know some of you may not be able to find velvet or even like it for that matter. SO for those of you in that category, I got you covered. I made a floor length Holiday dress out of Red ITY fabric. ITY is inexpensive, easy to find and so comfy to wear. It has a slight sheen so I think it’s a great option for holiday attire as well.  

This is made from the Tessa Sheath dress pattern too. It’s also the only one with pockets. For this one I did elbow length sleeves and added pockets. To get the maxi length I added 14 inches to the midi length option. It’s perfect to wear withg my tie Obi Belt upcycle probably my favorite maxi dress.

Get the Extra Mile!

Now if you want to go all out, consider making some coordinating ties for the men in your life. It’s such a quick and simple thing to do. I do it for all the holidays and it’s super fun. Two simple tie patterns I found are Simplicity 8180 which has a cute button up shirt too, or Simplicity 4762 which has a vest. As a note of caution, 4762 is very old and the tie is very short. You will definitely need to add 4-6 inches to the length of the tie for your man or teen boy. 

Whatever you do I hope you have a wonderful Holiday season, dressed however you chose!