The Calliope Dress Pattern Instructions

Welcome to the July Sewing Pattern which I have named The Calliope Dress. In greek mythology, Calliope was the muse of poetry, and this dress silhouette is so dreamy and romantic that I found the name to be quite fitting. This dress features a high slit, v shaped neckline with option to stitch for more support, giant bishop sleeves with a small cuff, the option for a sheer midriff, and the option to have a major dramatic moment with a longer train, or a shorter skirt for a more casual feel with Look B.

Below are the written sewing instructions, and I also filmed a step by step Youtube video of the entire creation process of this dress which is on the left of this text box! When you make your dress, please tag me! I would love to see what your dress looks like!!

Let’s Get Started!

1.Welcome to the Calliope Pattern! This page is dedicated to helping you construct your own version! Step #1 is to Familiarize yourself with the pattern pieces and the indicated markings such as grain lines, notches, and labels.You will have the following pattern pieces:

A- Bodice Front

B. Bodice Back

C. Midriff Front

D. Midriff Back

E.Sleeve

F. Cuff

G. Center Front Skirt

H. Side/Back Skirt

I.Center Front Skirt Lining

J. Side/Back Skirt Lining

2. Cut your pattern pieces in the fabric. A cutting layout guide is included with your pattern to help you with placement on the fabric

3. If you are using a super sheer fabric ( like I did for the sample) You may want to Flat Line The bodice Like I did so you don’t see the seams through the sheer fabric. This is when you would do that. Flatline all bodice pieces (A,B .)You may also want to flatline your Cuff (F) if it is also out of your sheer fabric.

4.-Now that we have cut all of our pieces, and flat lined the ones we needed to, lets start working on our bodice front pieces. The bodice features pleats that are folder toward center front and you can mark these lines on your fabric with transfer paper and a rotary wheel, or you can just use straight pins like I am doing. You want this to be accurate, so make sure your markings are in the correct place. Our pattern has labeled which direction your pleats fold with little arrows. Create your tucks by folding the fabric, and meeting one pin to the next, then pin that tuck in place. Once pleated, the zigzag shape of the bodice front pattern piece should not be visible, and will form a straight line. You will repeat this with your lining pieces.

5.Now is when you need to decide whether you will close up the bodice front a few inches for more support. This is a great option for those With a larger cup size. The Front Bodice Pattern piece features a “notch for optional closed front.
If you are closing the front, you will pin the right sides together of pattern piece A, and stitch from that notch to the bottom. Make sure to backstitch at both ends. Afterwards, you will press that seam open “Flat and Beautiful.” You will repeat this with your lining pieces.

6.The next step is to attach the shoulder pieces of Bodice Front (pattern piece A) and Bodice Back(pattern piece B) You will pin right sides together, stitch the seam, and finish your edges accordingly, whether that be serging, or zigzagging. You will repeat this with your lining pieces.

7.If you have chosen not to close the center front seam, we will now begin attaching our lining to the face fabric. With the right sides together, we will pin all along the inside of the bodice front, and follow that all around to the bodice back piece. (Please note that we will be starting our stitch 1/2” from the bottom, and stopping 1/2” from the top of this seam. This is where we will attach the bodice to the sheer midriff.) After pinning, you will stitch the face fabric to the lining fabric.

The curve where you stitched is slight, but you may want to clip the curve before turning right side out. After clipping, turn your fabric right side out, and press that seam nice and flat.

8.The next step is optional, but I think gives a very professional look and feel. We will under stitch the seam allowance to the lining. We do this by opening up our fabric, and pressing the seam allowance toward the lining. You will want to stitch super close to the original seam, but try not to overlap. This stitch will be visible inside the lining, and will help the bodice to hold it’s shape! After under stitching, you will want to turn the bodice right side out, and press it flat and beautiful. You will be able to feel the difference after under stitching. The sturdiness of the shape will be much more noticeable. You will repeat these steps for both sides of the bodice.

9.Now let’s close the side seams of the bodice. You will stitch the outer layer side seams together , and then stitch the lining side seams together. Make sure to pin with right sides facing, and then stitch. Afterwards press all seams flat , and finish your seams accordingly.

10.We will now have defined armholes on the bodice pieces, and you will line them up, and pin all the way around the opening. It may help to begin by lining up the side seams and working your way around. After pinning you will flatten the arm holes together by stitching at 1/4”. This will make it easier to stitch in our sleeve.

11.Now let’s work on assembling our midriff. Begin by stitching the side seams of Midriff front (C) to Midriff Back (D) Make sure your right sides are facing before joining. After stitching, press your seams open, and finish accordingly. If you are using a lightweight fabric you can French seam this, or overlock, but keep in mind that if you are suing a sheer fabric that your seams will be visible, so make them gorgeous!

12.Before we can join our bodice pieces to the midriff, take note of the back bodice ( pattern piece B). The bottom has a small line for gathering, so you will want to do a gather stitch along the bottom of both the face fabric, and the lining fabric. After the gather stitch, pin one side of the bodice to the midriff, making sure to line the front up with he center front point. You will only be pinning the outer face fabric to the midriff, which is why we left that 1/2” un-sewn on the bodice. When you get to pinning the side back of the bodice, you will see that the back piece is a bit big for the midriff back piece, which is why we created a gather stitch. You will want to gather the back bodice to fit the back midriff length, and then pin this in place. Make sure the gathers are evenly placed out. After pinning we can then stitch the bodice to the midriff. (Making sure not to sew the bodice lining into the seam.)Afterward, finish that seam out. I’m choosing to overlock it because I want a little extra strength there. Now we can do the opposite side.

13.Make sure your center front bodice pieces are touching, but NOT overlapping. This is a focal point of the dress, and you want this to be nice and clean.

-If you chose to close up the center front of your bodice, you will pin the bodice to the midriff and then stitch/ overlock. Because of the point in the midriff center front, you may need to pin and stitch one side, and then lift your presser foot to align to stitch the other side. After stitching you will finish out that seam.

14.-Now let’s take care of that lining. Press your seam allowance away from the midriff. We want this seam to be clean, so the seam allowance will be hidden inside the bodice. Now fold your lining inward, and pin your lining to the bodice. Make sure you lining is folded in the same amount as your seam allowance . After pinning all the way across, you will then hand stitch the lining to midriff. After finishing one side, you will then repeat this on the other side of the bodice. If you chose to close the center front seam a bit, this will just be one longer step.

15.-Now let’s work on the sleeves. My sleeves will be sheer on this dress, so I will begin by overlocking both sides of each of the sleeves. The sleeve cap has a small gather, and the sleeve pattern (Pattern piece E) shows where to stitch and gather. The bottom of the sleeve will also be gathered to the length of the sleeve cuff. Also please note that the sleeve is marked with which side is the back. This will help fit into the arm hole correctly.

-To sew the sleeve, Begin by sewing a gather stitch along the cap and along the bottom. Now we can sew the sides of the sleeve. Before sewing, please note that the sleeve has a slit which will allow the cuff to be functional, so you will need to stop your stitch at the notch. Pin the right sides together, and stitch the side seam. Afterwards, press open. Now that we have pressed the slit open, lets top stitch it by sewing starting from the beginning of the sleeve, and squaring off the top and then working our way back down. To get the perfect square stitch, leave your needle inserted while lifting your presser foot.

16.-We can now work on the cuff(pattern piece F). I will be adding some fusible interfacing to give the cuff a little structure. You can also choose to use a sew in interfacing and add this step in the beginning when flat lining.

-Begin by gathering the bottom of the sleeve to the length of the cuff minus the 1/2” seam allowance on each side. Now, with right sides facing, pin your sleeve to one side of your cuff, and stitch. Afterward, overlock, or clip that seam allowance so it’s not bulky. We can now fold the cuff in half with right sides facing, and pin. Now stitch the sides of the cuff. Clip any excess of the seam, turn your cuff right side out. Press the corners of your cuff out so they are nice and pointy.

17.Now we can fold in the seam allowance of the other side of the cuff, and pin this in place. I prefer to hand stitch this closed so you can have a very clean cuff, but you can also topstitch this if you like.

18.Now we can pin the sleeve into the arm hole. Begin with right sides facing, and match up the side seams of the sleeve and armhole. Pin the sleeve to where the gather stitch starts on bot sides. Now, gather the cap of the sleeve to fit the measurement of the arm hole, and then pin in place. Now stitch around the arm hole, and then finish the seam accordingly. I am overlocking this. You could also choose to just sew the sleeve to the outer layer of fabric, and then treat the lining seam allowance how we treated the midriff and hand stitch it if you prefer.

19.For a closure, I have chosen to add two hook and eyes to the cuff. You could also add buttons and button holes or snaps if you like!

20.Now let’s talk about the skirt. The skirt has the option for a shorter version ( View B) and also has a side slit which is optional. You will have a center front piece that is cut on the fold, this is pattern piece G, and two side back pieces which are pattern piece H. There will be a notch on both pieces to indicate where the slit stops on the skirt, ands notches on the center back pieces to indicate the side back . This goes for the same on the lining pieces which are a bit smaller, and shorter. The Center front lining is pattern piece I, and the center back lining piece is J.

21.To begin, because my outer layer is sheer, I am going to overlock down all the pieces because I want a clean seam inside. I will do the same to the lining pieces. Now, with right sides together, i will stitch the outer layer where the slit will go. Then press it open flat. For the lining, I will do the same. Please note where the lining will hang, and make sure you are adding the slit to the correct side of the lining. Afterward, we can attach the other side of the skirt. This seam will get sewn all the way to the bottom of the hem as the slit is on the other side.

22.Now we can add a gather stitch to the top of the skirt. I think in this case, it would be best to do two gather stitches for more support. Now gather the top of the skirt to the length of the bottom of your midriff piece.

23.After pinning the outer skirt to the midriff piece, I am going to pin the lining to the other side of the midriff piece to sandwich it in. Now stitch the skirt, the lining, and the midriff together at the seam you pinned, and then finish the seam accordingly.

24.Before we attach the skirt and the lining at the slit, we need to hem the lining pieces only. I am going to do a rolled hem, and before I did this I overlocked the edge to make the rolled hem a bit easier for me.

25.I have turned the dress right side out, and the overlay is on top of the lining. As you can see the slit starts at the same point as the lining, and the outer layer. I am lifting the outer layer to reveal the seam allowances, and I’m going to pin the seam allowance together starting at the slit, all the way down to the bottom of the skirt. After pinning I am going to stitch from that point to the bottom. Afterward I will repeat this to the other side. This joins the lining and the outer layer at the slit for a clean edge. Now turn right side out and press flat and beautiful.

26.Now I am going to join the lining to the outer fabric along both center back seams with a basting stitch that starts at the top of the bodice back, and runs to the hem of the skirt. You can then overlock that edge if you haven’t already. You are now ready to add an invisible zipper. If you need some help with invisible zippers, I have added a tutorial to the Patreon for tiers 2&3.

27.Now that your dress is closed up, the last step is to hem the dress. Because my fabric has an embroidered hem, I am choosing to trim away the excess netting rather than do a full hem. If your fabric does not have an embroidered hem, you can do a rolled hem, or any type of hem your heart desires!

LASTLY-Part of the magic of design is being inspired by the fabric, so really allow yourself to explore fun fabric options. Maybe you decide to make this dress without sleeves, or even just just the top of the bodice and midriff as a separate top. The options are endless, and I encourage you to play around with the patterns I create for you. There’s so much magic and creativity brewing within all of us, and this is a place to create with no judgement. I cannot wait to see your Calliope dresses, and if you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to reach out to me.