1.Let’s familiarize ourselves with the pattern pieces. There are 7 pattern pieces, and they are labeled 

A-Front Bodice

B.Back Bodice

C. Collar 

D. Sleeve

E.Front Skirt

F.Back Skirt 

G. Skirt Godet

2.Start by cutting out your patterns, If you notice on Pattern Piece E/F, this piece doubles as the front and back of the skirt. The seam allowances are noted on one side. When you are cutting the back piece, you will need to leave the seam allowance because that is where your zipper will go. When you start cutting the front, you will need to fold the seam allowance on the paper over so you can cut it on the fold. (Please wait a moment before cutting the godet lines. This will make it easier to cut out the base skirt and lining fabrics.)

3.For the sample dress I’m using this tulle netting that has a rose gold floral motif. It’s got a little weight to it so it will hang straight to the body, and I want the godets to look like they are floating, so I’m going to use a regular tulle netting for the godets. I’m going to start cutting all of my fabrics out now.

4.Now let’s lay the skirt pattern flat(piece E&F). On the pattern are lines that signify cuts to make room for the godets. We will cut them from the bottom to the top. I suggest stopping 1/2” to an inch away from the very top.

5.Lets cut the skirt fabrics where the godets will go. It was easier for me to lay my sheer fabrics on top of the pattern, but you could lay your pattern on top of your fabric. Just use lots of weights or pins to make sure they stay in the correct position. You want nice straight lines for your godets.

6.If you decide you want more volume in the Godets, and you would like to double them, This next step is for you. Once you’ve cut out all 22 godets, you will need to join two of them at the side seam. With right sides facing, pin and stitch two godets together. Afterward, you will press the seam open, and finish it out. Because im working with a sheer tulle I decided to just trim the tulle back to 1/4”. After you have joined two of them you will set them aside, and repeat this step 10 more times. At the end you should have 11 Godets.

7.Earlier in the steps I had you stop cutting about 1/2”-1” and it’s because we are going to add a stay stitch. This step is necessary if you are working with a really lightweight fabric like I am. A stay stitch is useful in helping add some strength to areas that may need a little boost.

8.If you notice on the Pattern piece E/F and Piece G, there are three dots marked on each one. These dots are indicators of where the pattern should attach. You can use a tailors chalk or disappearing ink pin to mark them if you like. If you lay the piece G on top of piece E/F, you’ll notice there’s 1/2” above the top dots , and 1/2” on each side. This is your seam allowance. The goal is for the godet to be a perfectly inserted triangle into that slit we added to the skirt. Start by pinning right sides facing one side of the godet to one side of the slit in the skirt. Pin from bottom all the way to the top. You can mark the dots on your fabric if it helps you to insert correctly. We can now start sewing. You will start sewing from the bottom, and work your way to the top. I find it easiest to have the godet be on the bottom and the skirt on top as i’m sewing. When you get to the top dot, back stitch. You will have a little less seam allowance towards the top because we are creating a point. Make sure to stitch just outside your stay stitch so it doesn’t show on the outside.

9.I find it easiest to cut from where we left off in the skirt slit to right under where the top dot Is. This will allow us to have some ease in attaching the other side of the godet.

10.Now we can flip the godet over, to match right side to right side on the opposite edge that we just stitched. You will need to pull the point part to the back side. We want to start our needle right at the stitch we just left off at. Insert your needle right by where we just stopped, and then stitch from that point all the way to the bottom making sure to backstitch at both ends. Afterward, you can press open and finish the seam out. I suggest an overlock or zigzag, but if you are using a sheer netting like this tulle, you can do what im doing and trim the seam allowance back to 1/4”

11.Repeat steps 9-12 on the rest of the slits In the skirt.

12.Now let’s sew the side seams of our skirt front and skirt back together. Please note there are notches that indicate where to stop stitching. This is so we can sew our last few godets in here. With right sides facing, pin your skirt front to skirt back, and stitch making sure to stop and backstitch at the notch. Do this on both sides.

13.Now we can insert our last 2 godets into the side seams like we did on the rest of the skirt.

14.Now that the outer skirt is finished we can work on the lining which I promise you will be MUCH easier! With right sides facing, pin the sides seams of the skirt front to skirt back, and stitch together. After stitching press your seams flat and beautiful, and then finish them out. Now we can sit our skirts aside and begin working on the bodice.

15.The first step of the bodice is deciding what style you want to make! The sample is sleeveless with a high neckline, but you could also make this dress with or without the collar, and also with a sleeve! I will show you all options here.

16.No matter the bodice style, the next step is to sew the darts in the front and back pieces. You can use a tracing paper and tracing wheel to mark if you like. Pin and stitch the darts, and then press them flat and beautiful. Now repeat this step with the lining pieces.

17.Let’s start with the option of No Sleeve and the high collar. To begin you should have cut your bodice pieces at the “sleeveless cutline ) which is marked on the pattern pieces A, and B. pin the front piece (piece A) to the back (piece B) at the shoulder seams with right sides facing. Stitch, and press this seam open. Now repeat this with the lining.

18.Now we can pin our lining to the outer fabric with right sides facing. We will be pinning all around the arm hole on each side and then sewing, If you plan on creating the sleeveless with NO neck collar, you will also pin around the neckline. After pinning, we will stitch all the way around. You will want to clip the curves so it is nice and clean when we turn the garment right-side out. Now flip the garment right-side out. You may also choose to under stitch the arm holes. (This will be possible if you didn’t stitch the neckline also) Now we can press those seams nice and flat.

19.The next step will be to join the side seams on each side. You will want to match the lining to lining, and outer fabric to outer fabric. I find it’s easiest to match the center seams up first to make sure they meet perfectly. After pinning, stitch, and press open, then you can finish the seam. This will now give us a fully realized arm hole! (And neckline if you aren’t adding the collar)

20.If you plan on having sleeves, your next step on the bodice will be to pin the front piece (piece A) to the back (piece B) at the shoulder seams with right sides facing. Stitch, and press this seam open. Now repeat this with the lining.

21.After stitching the shoulder seam, you will now join the side seams. With right sides facing, join the side seams of pieces A, and B. After stitching, press open, and finish out. Repeat this step for the lining. You should now have a bodice with two arm holes, and a lining with two armholes. 

22.If you plan on NOT having a collar, you will join the lining and the outer fabric at the neckline. Pin the right sides facing, and stitch all the way around the neckline. Afterwards, clip your edges, and turn the garment right side out and press that seam flat.

23.Before preparing the sleeves, let’s join the lining to the outer fabric at the arm holes. Insert the lining into your outer fabric like if it were being worn( this mean the finished side of the lining is facing in towards where the body will be, and the nice finished side of the outer fabric faces away from the body. )Now pin all along the armhole, and baste stitch ( long length stitch) all around the area hole at 1/4” seam allowance so when we sew the sleeve in, this basting stitch doesn’t show on thew outside.

24.Now lets prepare our sleeves. As you can see on the sleeve pattern, there are notches to indicate where you should sew your gather stitch.  Stitch around the cap at about 1/4” (we don’t want the gather stitch to show on the outside of the sleeve once sewn in.

25.Now we can join the side seams of the sleeve. With right sides together, pin and stitch the inseam of the sleeve. Afterwards finish out the seam, and then press it flat and beautiful.

26.To insert the sleeve, we will pin the sleeve into the arm hole starting at the sleeve seam, and the side seam. You want to make sure your right sides are facing. Pin up to where the gather stitch starts on both sides of the sleeve cap.

27.Now gather the sleeve to fit the arm hole length. Make sure your gathers are spaced out nice and evenly. Now pin the rest of the sleeve cap into the arm hole, stitch and finish the seam. I am going to overlock this seam, but if you don’t have a serger you could also zigzag over the edges, or use a bias tape to cover the seam if you like.

28.Now that we have our bodice assembled, let’s address the keyhole in the back of the bodice. The pattern Piece B has a notch where we will stop stitching. I you decided not to have a collar, I suggest surpassing the keyhole. To create the keyhole, turn the lining and outer fabric inside out. Stitch from the top of the neckline down towards the notch, making sure to backstitch at the notch. Repeat this step on the opposite side of the bodice also. Clip any excess away if you like, and then turn the bodice right side out, and press the keyhole.

29.Now let’s work on the collar. You may want to use a bit of interfacing if you want to add some sturdiness to the collar. I used a lightweight fusible. Start by laying the two collar pieces on each other with right sides facing, and pin. We will stitch on both ends, and across the top leaving the bottom open. After stitching, clip any excess, and turn the collar right-side out. Press the corners out so they are nice and pointy.

30.To attach the collar, pin one side of the collar to the right side of your bodice at the neckline. Make sure not to stitch both sides of the collar in the seam. The neckline should fit perfectly within the collar. After stitching the collar in place, you will fold the other side of the collar under 1/2” to meet the other seam allowance, and we will be hand stitching this in place. If you need a hand stitching tutorial, there is one on the patreon.

31.Now we can work on attaching the skirt. Attach the outer skirt layer to the outer layer of the bodice at the waist seam with right sides facing. Pin and stitch the outer layers together. Afterwards press and finish the seam. Now attach the skirt lining to the bodice lining at the waist seam. With right sides facing, pin and stitch. Then finish out the seam.

32.Now we can insert our zipper. If you need a tutorial on inserting a zipper, there’s a tutorial on the patreon. If you have a keyhole, your zipper will start where the keyhole stops. If you don’t have the keyhole, you will start your zipper at the top of the dress at the neckline. When you go to close the skirt from the zipper down, notice there’s a notch at the center back skirt pattern. This is to insert our last godet. The last godet will be inserted from the notch down, just like the rest of our godets.

33.Now attach the lining to the zipper. I do this by stitching the lining to the seam allowance of the zipper when the garment is inside out. That way when we flip it RIGHT side out, the zipper will be sandwiched between the outer and lining fabrics.

34.After inserting the zipper and finishing out the back of the dress we can hem the lining, outer skirt, and sleeves.

35.The last step is to add some hook and eyes to the collar to help it stay closed on the neck.

Welcome to the Vespertine Dress Pattern. I named this jacket after a word that was really commonly used in the victorian era, which referred to something being active in the evening, and this Dress is perfect for any evening affair.

This dress features the option for a high neck collar, an optional puffy sleeve, the option to shorten the skirt, a keyhole at the center back, and 11 beautiful godets for maximum flow.  I wanted to note that for this sample dress I decided to double the godets, meaning I cut 22 rather than 11. If you wish to do this, you will want to double the fabric needed for the godets. IF you do decide to double your godets, I will show you how to do so in the instructional video. I always encourage adding your own touches to the garments, which is why I add these little alterations/ tips and tricks to help you along.

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!!