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Minimalist Beauty

living simply with grace, discretion and faith

Minimalist Beauty

My DIY Linen Maxi Dress

October 25, 2019 by Dawn Michelle

My love for linen dresses hasn’t stopped. But since our big move from Los Angeles, CA to Raleigh, NC the budget for them has. Luckily I purchased a great drop shoulder linen top a year ago that I created a pattern from.

With this pattern I’ve made a top and two dresses so far. One of the dresses is in my spring/summer capsule, yet the dress I’m sharing today is for fall/winter. Today I wanted to share a bit of the process for making this latest dress.

I purchased heavy weight blue linen fabric from my local Joann Fabrics over the summer. Before beginning this project, I prewashed the fabric. Although this pattern was created from a top, I extend the length to make it a dress. This loose fitting pattern is easy to make adjustments with.

  1. Here you see a glimpse of my pattern which I traced on a grocery bag. I extend the length of the dress from the armpit down to the end of the fabric. I placed the sleeve pattern piece on the fold of additional fabric before cutting although not shown. Even though I’m using the same pattern piece for the front and back, I lower the neckline in the front with a higher neckline for the back.
  2. After cutting the front and back panels of the dress, I sewed the shoulders of the dress together.
  3. Here is just another view of the dress so far.
  4. After the sleeves are cut on the fabric fold, I sew them on.
  5. Drop shoulder sleeves are an extremely easy three step process. I always start with the shoulder seam, then sew on the sleeve, then do one long stitch to close the sleeve down to the hem of the garment.
  6. Here the sleeve and side seam is complete.
  7. Now the only thing left to do is finish off the neckline, sleeve hem, and skirt hem of the garment. I use a strip of fabric to create bias tape to have a polished neckline. I’m still working on mastering my DIY bias tape and neckline finish skills.
  8. Finally the dress is done!

I can never rave enough about linen. It can be dressed up or down pretty easily, has a timeless appeal, and never looks overdone. I’ve noticed that oversized linen dresses are cinched in beautifully with a belt, and even more comfortable on the days when that is a priority. I love that medium to heavy weight linen can look chic and modest in a loose fit because of how well it drapes.

Since working with linen, I’ve learned to enjoy the look of French seams. I prefer the look and stability of French seams despite the extra effort. There are tons of tutorials online on how to create them. I’ve used French seams with every linen piece I’ve made so far.

Now that this dress is complete, I’m thinking of making a belt to compliment it as well as a long skirt with the remaining fabric. I’m still a novice when it comes to sewing, yet with each project there is always more improvement. I’d love to learn how to create a button placket for some of these designs. Maybe by next year I’ll have it figured out.

And yes heavy weight linen is surprisingly warm for the fall and winter. I’ll share my tips on how I wear linen during the fall/winter soon.

Images by Dawn Michelle

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  1. nofixedstars says

    October 25, 2019 at 12:14 pm

    that is beautiful! and i so agree about the french seaming…i can’t sew well enough to make a dress myself, but french seams are something i look for in buying clothing.
    i wear linen all year ’round too—it layers and breathes so well, and to me, the texture of heavy linen works nicely with wool, whether knitted or woven/tweedy/felted.

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      October 26, 2019 at 12:15 pm

      Thank you nofixedstars! I rarely see French seams in clothing that I buy since I assume most clothing is sewn now on sergers which I don’t have. I think that is why I like using French seams since it looks beautiful on the inside of the garment. If sergers weren’t so expensive I would think of getting one. For now I’m good with my simple sewing machine. And yes to wearing linen year round, especially medium and heavy weight linen. Hope all is well with you.

      Reply
  2. Natalia says

    October 28, 2019 at 3:13 am

    Hi! I’m so IN LOVE with your blog! It helps me a lot is the best about DIY cosmetics. I copy everything on my notebook. Yet I got some questions I hope you can answer:

    1-I read about Rhassoul and I was glad to know I could use aloe vera juice to balance PH instead of Apple Cider Vinegar because ACV clarifies hair and I want to keep my dark color. But I don’t know how much aloe vera juice to put into 2 tablespoons of Rhassoul, could you help me please?

    2-Have you got a recipe on a DIY creamy rinse out conditioner ?

    3-Will henna make me lose my waves? I like my hair texture and im afraid henna might straighten my hair as you said it looses curls… :'(

    4- I posted comments on your last article but they do not appear on the comment section :'(
    Thank you very much in advance!!!

    Reply
    • Natalia says

      October 28, 2019 at 3:22 am

      Sorry! Just consider 1 and 3 😀

      Reply
      • Dawn Michelle says

        October 30, 2019 at 1:14 pm

        Hi Natalia,
        Thank you so much! Aloe vera is great for pH balancing the hair when mixed with rhassoul clay and on its own. And yes henna can change your curl pattern with repeat applications especially if you already have a looser curl pattern. If you are not interested in naturally dying your hair, there are other natural ways to strengthen and condition your hair. Cassia is also an alternative to henna which conditions the hair without any color. It is often called neutral henna althought it is not from the same plant or even henna at all. I don’t have a lot of personal experience withe cassia though. You can find many more DIY hair care recipes linked above at the top of the website under “DIY”. I hope this helps some.

        Reply
        • Natalia says

          November 3, 2019 at 8:37 am

          Hi! Thank you very much! Your answer helped a lot!

          Reply
  3. Kiara says

    November 22, 2019 at 3:59 am

    Yes! I absolutely love this. I’m on the lookout for linen dresses but I live in MD and it’s super cold. I didn’t think linen could be worn in the winter. Thanks so much for. God bless you 🙏.

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      November 27, 2019 at 1:00 pm

      Thank you so much Kiara! Heavy weight linen is amazing in the fall and winter. Most local stores only sell lightweight linen during the summer, so it is very easy to think of it as only a summer fabric. I also enjoy that both midweight and heavy weight linen do not wrinkle nearly as much as lightweight linen, and they actually look beautiful with a few wrinkles. Lightweight linen doesn’t look nearly as good with even the slightest wrinkle. May God bless you too.

      Reply
  4. Annette says

    January 23, 2020 at 1:43 pm

    Dawn have you ever tried to soften linen by soaking it in water and baking soda? I want to try it out but am not sure if I want to use new linen fabric that I just bought as a guinea pig. I like the look of softened linen and get frustrated when my stiff ironed linen shirt gets all wrinkled in 5 minutes.

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      January 29, 2020 at 12:52 pm

      Hi Annette,
      I’ve never tried this before. I prefer medium and heavy weight linen which softens after one wash and also does not wrinkle excessively. I have had light weight linen pieces in the past which do not compare. Medium and heavy weight linen still look lovely in my opinion if they have a few wrinkles unlike light weight linen. I also steam linen clothing instead of ironing them.

      Reply
  5. Tina says

    January 29, 2020 at 4:28 am

    That diy dress is so beautiful. You are so talented.
    KISS
    tina wimpernverlängerung

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      January 29, 2020 at 12:59 pm

      Thank you so much Tina!

      Reply
  6. Amy says

    February 12, 2020 at 4:34 pm

    This is beautiful! May I ask what pattern you modified?

    Reply
  7. Amy says

    February 12, 2020 at 4:37 pm

    Never mind, I just read through again more carefully and got my answer, and am even more impressed that you made your own!

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      February 18, 2020 at 6:56 pm

      Thank you so much Amy! Whenever I get time to sew nowadays it truly is a treasure. I’m glad I was able to share is piece too.

      Reply
  8. Meg says

    March 17, 2020 at 11:19 am

    I am so inspired by this dress and plan to make one. Thank you for this tutorial. I searched heavyweight linen at JoAnn fabrics (online) and was confused by all the different options. Could you tell me a little more about how to choose a heavyweight linen at the fabric store? Should it be 100% linen—how can I tell if it is heavyweight? Thank you! Welcome to North Carolina (I live in Durham).

    Reply
    • Dawn Michelle says

      March 31, 2020 at 2:25 pm

      Hi Meg,
      At Joann’s they call heavyweight linen “suiting linen” if I’m remembering correctly. Yes I always look for 100% linen. Please let me know how your dress comes out.

      Reply
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living simply with grace, discretion and faith

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