The Tell Tale Tasha: 18. Piles of Styles - Infinity Dress

Heyyyyy! I told you I wouldn't be gone for too long! I'm back with a dress that has been a long time coming in the recesses of my mind. I just needed the fabric, time and an idea on how to draft it lol.

My idea came from this dress that I took a screenshot of from instagram:

I loved the way the strap stripes were horizontal and the skirt was vertical. I also loved that it was a maxi and looking at the waist, I realized it was an infinity dress. That made it an easy make. I found the cotton knit fabric at Fine Fabrics in Atlanta. The stripes weren't as wide but that didn't/doesn't bother me.

I made the skirt out of three rectangles. I had 3 yds of about 60" wide fabric. I folded the fabric in half and cut 10' wide-2 yd long straps (twice) to get the straps leaving me with 4 long straps and a yd-wide rectangle rectangle for the skirt. I cut 2 of the 4 long straps in half to add to the original two straps to make them total 100 inches. The rest of that got cut into a smaller square to make a facing for the straps where my air-ree-oh-las are lol. The fabric is not opaque so I just wanted to make sure nothing would be peaking (lol) through. I did not line the skirt but I'm wearing a black slip.

The rest of the fabric I just wrapped around my waist and pulled it up so that the selvage would be where I wanted the skirt hemmed. I could have made it a maxi but I didn't know if this fabric would shrink more after a few washes and I'm tall so highwater maxis are not cutie. Plus I'm more inclined to wear dresses that hit just above the knee... they feel more "any-occassion" to me.

I serged straight up the back of the skirt on 2 black stripes so that the seam would not show and then I made small pleats all around the waist until it fit but needed a little elastic. The pleats aren't seen when I wear the dress because the ties/straps end up covering the waist. It gives the skirt a little body though.

I overlapped the front straps by 2 inches instead of one like most tutorials suggest. I also left them quite thick so that the my sides get full coverage as well. I attached them to the skirt with a 1 inch seam allowance then folded down the seam allowance and added elastic into the casing.

That's about it for the construction. It's a very light and comfortable dress. I just have to make sure I secure the ends properly so I don't fall apart half way through the day lol. Also, I did not hem the sides or ends of the straps... I just pulled on them so they could curl up on themselves.