How to Sew an Easy Satin Slip Dress with Ruffles - Free Pattern by Spirited Maria

Hello, and welcome to another free tutorial where you will learn how to sew an easy satin slip dress that is cut on the bias (more on that in a minute). In my ambitious quest to use my considerable fabric stash I used some red satin fabric and red organza tablecloths, that were given to me, for this slip dress. I chose to add ruffles for some fairycore flair but they are optional of course.

Although the fabric in this tutorial is satin, this project will be easier because a slip dress is loose fitting and does not have complex pieces to sew together. The final slip dress will also have some slight stretch to it because it was cut on the bias. And you can even add waist ties to make the slip dress more fitted if you want. Due to the tendency of satin and organza to fray at the drop of the hat, this pattern makes use of French seams, so the seam allowance needs to be 1.5cm/0.6 inch for all the fabric pieces you cut.

Some tips for sewing satin & organza (or other slippery fabrics)

Use a smaller sewing machine needle size such as 80/12, instead of 90/14
Make sure that your pins and sewing machine needle are sharp so they don’t create snags (fabrics like satin and organza snag easily)
Use a lower iron temperature as satin and organza are synthetic and can melt at high temperatures
When folding satin/organza to cut out your pattern pieces, use pins to stop the fabric from shifting around
Use clover clips (shown in the image below) instead of pins as the clips won’t slip out or leave holes, unlike pins

You will need:

125 by 115cm/49.2 by 45.3 inches of satin fabric
2 pieces of organza each 96 by 145cm/37.8 by 57.1 inches
Thread matching your fabrics
Fusible interfacing

How to cut out the satin & organza fabric pieces for the slip dress

How to cut out the satin pieces

Here is the list of satin fabric pieces you will need. Detailed instructions for how to cut the pieces will follow.

2 dress pieces
4 pockets (optional)
2 hem facings
2 neckline facings
fusible interfacing for the hem & neckline facings

Step 1

Fold your satin fabric diagonally so you can cut the slip dress on the bias.

This will give the dress a bit of stretch so it can almost mold to your body. And it will give the satin a lovely drape as well. I used a slip dress of mine as a pattern and turned it inside out then folded it in half before tracing around it. Then I also chose to do a slanted hem for my slip dress but you can do a straight hem instead. I also extended the sides of the slip dress about 2.5cm/1 inch for the pocket openings. The pocket openings are 16cm/6.3 inches wide.

sew easy red satin slip dress with pocket openings

Width of satin dress including seam allowance = 64cm/25.2 inches

Step 2

The pockets are 16cm6.3 inches at the widest point, tapering to 14cm/5.5 inches at the end. And the pockets are 22cm/8.7 inches long. All these measurements include the seam allowance. I rounded the corners as well as a personal preference.

Step 3

The facings for the neckline and the hem of the slip dress should be 5cm/2 inches wide, including seam allowance. There should be 2 facings for the neckline and 2 facings for the hem.

How to cut out the organza ruffle pieces

Here is a list of the number of organza pieces you will need to cut:

3 pieces for the bottom ruffles
2 pieces for the waist ties
2 pieces for the straps
additional decorative ruffles

Step 1 – cut out the first bottom ruffle piece

total width of the satin dress- 6cm seam allowance = 122cm

122cm/3 = 40.67 40.67+3cm seam allowance = 43.67

Radius of quarter circle = (43.67 multiplied by 2)/3.14 = 27.81 which I will round to 28cm (11 inches) as the radius i will use for cutting this ruffle piece. The length of this ruffle piece is 69cm/27.2 inches.

Step 2 – cut out the second bottom ruffle piece(s)

So the longest part of this ruffle piece will be 69cm/27.2 inches, as it will be joined to the first ruffle piece you cut in step 1. The radius will be 28cm/11 inches, the same as Step 2.

I cut this piece in half along the horizontal fabric fold at the top of the photo. The hem will be asymmetrical which is what I had in mind for this satin slip dress.

Step 3 – cutting out the ties

I cut 2 pieces for the ties: each 9cm/3.5 inches wide (including seam allowance) and about 96cm/37.8 inches long. Remember you can always make them shorter later if you so desire.

Step 4 – cutting out the straps

The straps are 9cm/3.5 inches wide and 30cm/11.8 inches long, including seam allowance.

Step – cutting out the extra ruffles

The extra organza ruffles are 9cm/3.5 inches long, including seam/hem allowance.