About this tutorial
This tutorial shows you how to sew a pinafore dress – a sleeveless overall – with medium-weight wool fabric. The pattern has a fitted bodice and a half-circle skirt with in-seam pockets and a zip-up back. The bodice is lined. All of the edges are finished with bias tape.
This tutorial is written for intermediate and confident beginner sewers, so most steps are explained in detail but you should know the basics, like how to neaten your seam allowance or draw up the ease at a sleeve opening.
What is a pinafore dress
This classic style is basically a sleeveless dress worn over a blouse, t-shirt, or sweater. You might hear it referred to elsewhere as a pinny, dungaree, or overall dress.
Whatever name you use though, it makes a great addition to your wardrobe: it’s easy to layer, you can try different color combos for endless outfit options, and since you don’t wear it directly against your skin, it doesn’t need to be washed so often.
What you'll need
- Sewing machine
- Wool dress fabric and lining fabric
- Universal machine needle (No. 80–90) and all-purpose polyester thread to match your fabric
- Tailor’s tools (yardstick, tailor’s square, chalk, sharp scissors)
- Spiral indivisible zipper, 24 in (60 cm)
- A scrap of thin fusible interfacing
- A pattern
Pinafore dress pattern
Our dress has a sleeveless, fitted bodice and a half-circle skirt. We will show how to draft your own, easy skirt pattern, so you only need a pattern for the bodice. If you haven’t already got one in your pattern collection yet, here are some places to find one.
- Paper pattern: You can trace the bodice from Simplicity S9473 (smaller sizes) and S9474 (plus sizes), McCalls M8196, or Butterick B4443 (petites).
- Sewing magazine: Have a pile of sewing magazines with pattern inserts lying about? You may find a fitted bodice there. Burda’s August 2024 issue includes a dress with a fitted bodice that has an asymmetrical neckline; just redraw the neckline and you've got a perfect bodice pattern.
- Bodice sloper: The fitted, princess bodice is one of those classic patterns that you can get as a sloper (a sort of base pattern to tweak to your own measurements or simply use as is). For example, Bootstrap Fashion lets you plug in your measurements and the program generates a sloper to fit you.
- Draft your own: Most sewing textbooks have instructions for creating your own bodice sloper and there are plenty of good videos online that can show you how. (If you are in the Prague area, you can learn to make one at our blouse pattern workshop.)
- Alternative: If you decide you’d rather have a different sort of bodice than the fitted princess model, go ahead. Choose a pattern that has bust and waist darts. There are lots of them, for example in the June 2023 Ottobre.
Note, make sure you use a pattern drafted for woven fabric, not for knits or jerseys! The princess bodice is not usually used for knits, but just to be sure.
Before using a pattern, always measure everything and make any adjustments before you start cutting. Once you’ve started sewing there is limited room for changes.
Winter fabric for a pinafore dress
I have to confess that the whole reason I made this dress was to have an excuse to use Sartor’s wonderful diamond weave virgin wool. Go ahead and do the same if you like. Midwieght merino wool is also a good choice for this dress. In general, you want a medium weight wool fabric, around 250 gsm, in other words wool suiting, not wool coating.
Other nice choices for this autumn-to-winter pinafore dress would be corduroy and denim.
How much fabric to buy
- For a size medium dress (EU 38/40) you’ll need almost 3 yds (2.6 m) of fabric 55 in (140 cm) wide.
- Each size up adds about 4 in (10 cm) in fabric requirements.
- For plus sizes, use two bodice lengths, bringing the total to roughly 4 yds (3.6 m).
Lining fabric
The bodice is lined. We’ve found that including a lining keeps the main dress fabric from stretching and also makes the garment easier to wear because the lining material is smooth, so it slips right over any under layers. The skirt is unlined.
You’ll need 24 in (60 cm) of lining fabric. Good choices are silk serge, lyocell serge, or a silk blend voile. If you are shopping elsewhere, want to upcycle, or plan to use scraps from your stash, reach for acetate, not polyester – otherwise you’ll cancel out the breathability of wool.
Preparing wool fabric for sewing
Wool fabrics should be pre-shrunk with steam before sewing. Here’s how. Lay the fabric face down on a large flat surface (a table covered with a blanket or towels will work). Make sure the fabric does not hang over the edges; it could pull out of shape. Fire up your steam iron and move slowly across the fabric, steaming it from the back. Let the iron glide lightly across the surface (do not apply pressure) and move slowly and systematically, so that you don’t miss anything.
If you don’t have a steam iron, you can lay a damp cloth over the fabric and press through that.
Leave the fabric where it is to cool off and dry. If your table isn’t big enough, roll the fabric loosely, but don’t fold it.
Prep the lining the same way. Silk linings should be steamed – if your iron does not steam when its on the silk setting, lay a damp cloth on the fabric and press through that. Linings made of cotton, lyocell, and cupro can be steamed on the cotton setting or can be submerged in lukewarm water and then rolled in a towel and gently pressed to get the excess water out (don’t wring it) and laid flat to dry.
Cutting the pieces
Cut these pieces out of your wool fabric:
- Bodice pieces
- Skirt panels
- Pocket pieces
For the lining fabric you’ll only need to cut out the bodice pieces. Use the same pattern pieces, just leave a larger seam allowance at the bottom edge (at the waistline) for a fold over – at least 1 1/4 in (3 cm).
I used my diamond-weave wool for the pockets too, but if you are using a thicker fabric or one with pile (fleece, velvet, corduroy), use a different fabric for the pockets, like a plain woven cotton. Another option is to cut the bottom piece from the dress fabric and the upper piece from the lining fabric.
Here’s a PDF pocket pattern to print out. It fits on a single piece of letter or A4 paper.
Fitted princess bodice
The bodice front is made up of three pieces – a symmetrical center panel and two side panels that are mirror images of each other. The side panels are shorter.
The back is basically the same, but since there is a zip up the back, the central panel is in two halves.
Don’t forget to add seam allowance of 5/8 in (1.5 cm) and 1 in (2.5 cm) for the zipper.
Go ahead and cut out the lining now too. Use the same pattern pieces and same seam allowance as for the main fabric, but with 1 1/4 in (3 cm) at the bottom and no seam allowance at the zipper.
Drafting a half circle skirt
The skirt is made of three panels – a front panel and two symmetrical back panels. The front is a quarter circle and the back panels are each an eighth of a circle with a zip in the seam where they meet.
The figure below shows what the pieces look like and how to lay them on your fabric. The arrow shows the grainline. The skirt is 24 in long (60 cm). Calculate the radius of the waist for a half-circle skirt using the formula:
waistline ÷ 3.14
In our example (working in centimeters) a 75 cm waistline gives us a 24 cm radius.
Want to know more about circle skirts? Or are you thinking of making the skirt fuller or narrower? See our series on skirts:
Skirt pockets
Prepare four pocket pieces. Don’t forget that you need two mirror images for each pocket. Add 5/8 in (1.5 cm) seam allowance all around.
Time to sew
We’ll start with the bodice:
- Make the front
- Make the back
- Sew sides and shoulders
Sewing a bodice with princess seams
You may have already made a bodice with darts, where there is a single front panel with darts sewn at the bust and waistline.
For a princess bodice, like ours, these two darts are basically joined into a single seam, so the front is made up of three pieces.
Most patterns have a mark at the bust point for the central panel and the side panels. Match up the points and pin the pieces, making sure you keep the marks lined up. If the pattern shows that you should baste stitch the edge here before sewing, do it.
When you place the pieces face to face, the curves will bend in opposite directions. That is how it should be. Sew slowly, straightening the fabric as you go. Sew with the side panel on top and the central panel underneath. Tip for beginners: start at the bust point and sew to the upper edge and then start again from the bust point and sew to the lower edge.
Sewing the back of the bodice
Here it is pretty much the same. Sew the side panels to the corresponding half of the back central panel.
After sewing all the pieces together, trim back the seam allowances of the finished seams by about half. Notch your seams in the curved areas and patiently iron back all seams.
TIP
To make ironing your now three-dimensional piece easier, use a tailor's ham – a tightly stuffed cushion designed as an aid for pressing curved areas. Tailor’s hams (mine is from Prym) are sold at most sewing supply stores.
Note, iron from the back! Ironing from the front might make the fabric shiny. When you do have to iron from the front, either place a scrap of cotton over the fabric to protect it or steam it without touching the fabric directly.
Shoulders and side seams
Sew the side and shoulder seams.
The bodice is ready for you to try on. Loosely stitch the zipper onto the back and put the bodice on. Check how it fits across the bust and at the shoulders. At this point, you can easily take in or let out the bodice at the sides and on the princess seams.
For example, if the bodice fits around the bust but is loose at the waist, adjust the seams as shown below. If you only need to take in about an inch (2–3 cm), take it in at the sides (red dashed line); for a larger adjustment, take in the princess seams too (yellow dashed line).
Sewing the skirt
Lay the bodice aside and start on the skirt:
- Sew pockets
- Sew side seams
How to sew pockets in the skirt
On the side seam of the skirt, about 2 1/2 in (6 cm) from the waist seam, mark the top of the pocket opening. Line it up with the upper seam of the pocket piece, then mark the bottom of the pocket opening to match the bottom seam of the pocket piece.
Finish the edges of the pocket pieces all around before sewing (easier now than later). Lay the pocket piece on the skirt panel, face sides together. The round bottom of the pocket should be pointing toward the bottom of the skirt (in the photo below, the skirt waist is on the righthand side). Sew together as shown (yellow dashed line).
Do the same for all four pocket pieces.
Now you have:
- The front skirt panel with a pocket piece on the right edge and one on the left
- One back panel with a pocket piece on the left edge
- One back panel with a pocket piece on the right
Sewing the sides of the skirt
Now it’s time to sew the side seams of the skirt along with the pockets.
Fold each pocket piece out from its skirt panel and press. The photo below shows how it should look; the panel and pocket piece are lying face up.
Lay the front panel face up and place one of the back panels face down on it. Align the side seam and pockets and pin together.
The solid white line in the photo below shows where the pocket piece has already been sewn to the skirt. What you want to do now is sew along the yellow dashed line; start at the waist, turn and sew around the pocket and then continue along the side seam to the bottom edge of the skirt. Note, the yellow seam does not meet the white seam exactly; it’s a fraction of an inch further in. This helps hide the pocket in the seam.
Iron the side seam then turn the skirt right side out and press the pocket towards the front of the skirt. Neaten the seam allowances. A well sewn in-seam pocket should be virtually invisible.
Attaching bodice to skirt
You’re nearly there. The next step is to sew the bodice and skirt together.
Lay the bodice and skirt right sides facing at the waist. Carefully match up the side seams and back pieces. Align the bodice front center with the center of the front panel of the skirt.
When you pin the waist together you’ll notice a slight problem – the bodice waist runs straight across while the skirt waistline is curved so it tends to stretch. The trick is to be generous with your pins or to baste the pieces in place by hand to keep the fabric from stretching while you sew.
Sew from the center of the front panel all around to the back, then start again at the center and sew the other half. Trim away the seam allowance by about half and press the seam up towards the bodice.
Sewing in the zipper
Since the back seam of the skirt is cut on the bias, there is a risk of it stretching as you sew. To keep this from happening, iron a strip of fusible interface where you will attach the zipper. You can use lightweight fusible interlining or another iron-on interfacing (woven or non).
Mark the zipper length on the skirt. Sew the back seam from the bottom of the zipper to the bottom edge of the skirt.
Where should the zipper end?
Place the zipper so that it closes just below the neckline and make a mark on the skirt just above the bottom end of the zipper. Start sewing the back seam from this mark all the way to the bottom of the skirt. Then press the seam open.
Fold back the edges all along the zipper line and press in place so they’ll be easier to sew.
Sew on the zipper so that the folded edges of the fabric meet along the center line, hiding the teeth as shown below. Do not sew through all layers of fabric, just the zipper and the seam fold (the part of the fabric that is folded under. This lets you tuck the lining under the fold later.
Sew the zipper tape to the seam allowance. See the photo to the right.
Number 1 shows the outside of the back of the dress.
Number 2 is the seam allowance, unfolded for sewing (you’ll fold it back when you're done).
The arrow points to the fold.
Use a zipper foot, if you have one. It lets you sew closer to the zipper teeth.
Sew the whole length of the zipper on both sides. Be careful at the waist, where there are multiple layers of fabric. Make sure the waist seams on both sides are aligned when the dress is zipped up.
Sewing in the lining
Now it’s time to line the bodice. The skirt doesn’t need a lining; it will just be hemmed up.
The bodice lining is sewn together the same as the bodice – first sew the front, then the two halves of the back, and sew the side and shoulder seams. You don’t have to finish the edges. Take your time. The seams of the lining and the outer bodice have to line up perfectly – do not be tempted to make the lining smaller!
Insert the lining in the bodice with the wrong sides facing. Match up the arm holes, neckline, shoulder seams, princess and side seams. The front panels should align at the center neckline and center waistline.
Finishing the neckline with bias tape
Start with the neckline. Carefully pin the outer bodice and the lining together. Take in the outer fabric slightly so that it doesn’t stand out after sewing. Tuck the lining edge under the zipper seam allowance.
There is more than one way of finishing a dress neckline. I like binding the neckline with bias tape, which I’ll show you here. It’s easy and looks good.
You can buy bias tape or make your own out of the lining fabric.
You’ll probably have a scrap of lining fabric that will work for making bias tape. Simply trace a straight line at a 45-degree angle to the selvedge and cut a strip 1 1/4 in (3 cm) wide.
You can put together multiple segments to get the length you need as in the photo below (the seam is diagonal).
If you have a bias tape tool (below right), it makes things easier. Otherwise, just fold the sides to meet in the middle and press all along the length.
Pin the bias tape face to face all along the neckline. When you get to the zipper, fold back the bias tape as shown below.
Sew the bias tape all along the neckline and then fold back the neckline so that the bias tape is entirely hidden. Trim the seam allowance and press the neckline.
Pin or hand stitch the bias tape in place and then sew. You can top stitch the whole neckline with the sewing machine, sewing through the lining and the outer fabric. If you do, the seam will be visible on the outside of the dress.
If you don't want a visible seam on the outside, hand sew the bias tape from inside. Simply stitch the bias tape to the lining, only catching a thread or two of outer fabric with every second or third stitch to help hold the neckline down.
The photo above showed how to finish the bias tape at the zipper. Trim off the overhanging end of the tape in line with the edge of the seam allowance.
Don't forget this step!
Before you finish everything up, sew around the zipper. It is still only attached to the seam allowance.
Fold the seam allowance back and sew along the full length of the zipper along both sides sewing through all fabric layers (zipper tape, seam allowance, the lining tucked underneath, and the outer fabric). Sew no more than a quarter inch (5–7 mm) from the center of the zipper. The white dashed line in the photo shows where to sew; sew across the bottom end of the zipper (either at an angle or straight across).
Sew from the inside. If you sew from the face side, the fabric will bunch up.
The picture below shows another useful trick for zipper sewing. Zip it up and hand stitch the edges together so that they sit in place while sewing. After you’re done, just rip out the stitches.
Finishing the zipper
Tuck under the end of the bias tape at a slight diagonal so that the zipper pull has room to travel to the top. Pin in place, press, and sew!
Finishing the arm openings
You finish the arm openings just like the neckline. Sew bias tape face to face around the whole opening from the outside, easing it in around the curve as shown in the photos below.
Sew the ends of the tape together with a diagonal join, just as you would when lengthening bias tape. Fold over the ends at a 45-degree angle and sew with a machine or by hand. Trim the seam allowance close and press so that the bias tape is nice and flat.
Trim back the seam allowance at the arm opening so that rough edges will be hidden by the bias tape. Notch in several places on the curves. Fold everything to the inside, press, and sew the bias tape by machine or hand just as for the neckline.
Finish lining at the waistline
The dress is almost ready!
Arrange the lining at the waist so that all seams match.
Fold the bottom of the lining under and sew by hand to the waistline.
Be careful not to stretch the lining! Leave a bit of ease in the length, so that it is a little looser than the outer bodice layer. That’s why the bottom seam allowance is larger.
Hemming the skirt
The final step is hemming the skirt. Before you do this, you’ll have to check the length.
For circle skirts in particular, the bottom edge is almost never entirely straight. For one thing, panels cut at a bias hang differently than those cut on the grainline. Body shape and posture also come into play.
To get the bottom of the skirt straight, you need a helper who can measure all around you with a yardstick or tailor’s square to make sure the bottom of the skirt is the same distance from the ground all around. (You can’t do it yourself while standing straight.)
An option is to use a chalk dust hem marker or a chalked string tied between two chairs.
You can use a dressmaker’s dummy if you are sure that it matches your body type and posture.
Use the marks to sketch a new hemline. Sew a bias tape all around, face to face. If you don’t have to shorten the skirt too much, you can sew right away and trim away excess fabric afterwords.
Fold the bias tape to the back, press in place and top stitch by machine or hand sew.
Your pinafore dress is done!
Your new winter pinafore dress is done. Try it on with your favorite turtleneck, tee, or shirt and wear it proudly to work, to school, or just out and about.
How did it turn out?
Which wool fabric did you choose?
Share your finished product. We'd love to see your work!
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