FIVE New Dress Sewing Patterns to Make this Spring (including fabric suggestions & styling ideas)

We are into February now which means we can officially start thinking about spring sewing I think, don’t you?? I’m not going to mention for now, the large list of autumn makes that I still wanted to get finished before spring -oops! I’m sure they will still get made at some point… 

In today’s blog post, I’m going to be sharing five NEW dress patterns that I would absolutely love to sew up for spring time this year! I’ve purposely chosen transitional pieces this time, so dresses we can wear layered when it’s still a little bit chilly and on their own when it’s warmer outside. I’ll also be sharing a little bit of fabric and styling inspiration too…

Ps. I do have a YouTube video which goes alongside this blog chatting through these patterns and fabrics in a little more detail – I’ve linked it below if you fancy a watch.

So, let’s get into it shall we…!

M8553 Misses Dress with Sleeve & Length Variations

Rumour has it that zips are going to be big this coming spring/summer season and we’re going to be seeing them a lot, so this pattern is right on trend for spring/summer this year. I love the sleeves in this pattern, they’re full and gathered at the shoulder and again at the wrist and finished with a pretty cuff. I also love the fact that you can make this with either a short or a long sleeve – long sleeve would be perfect with trainers or short boots for the chillier transitional weeks into spring. 

What I also love about this pattern is the contrast in the quite feminine look of this shirt dress with the gathered skirt and puffy sleeves and then the more utility and edge nature of the patch pockets and zip. Well done with this one McCalls, well done this is definitely on my own to sew list for spring and I can’t wait to give it a try!

Ps. Fabric Godmother released a very similar looking pattern recently called the Aspen Dress and if you’re not keen on the puffy sleeves of this McCalls pattern you might want to check this one out instead – it’s slightly more understated I’d say.

Fabric suggestions – I absolutely love the denim as they have used in the pattern images. Linen would be also be great. Something with structure will emphasise the shape of the sleeves but I’d also be tempted to try this in something lighter such as a viscose/linen blend if you wanted to go a bit more understated. Personally I prefer this kind of dress in a solid colour fabric because you can see the details more but it would work well in a print too.

Asteri Dress by Named Clothing

This is such a pretty button down dress – I absolutely I love a good shirt dress, so these first two patterns are right up my street! The Asteri Dress is a sleeveless midi dress with a V neckline, princess seams for fitting at the bodice and a button down front. There are also discrete in-seam pockets and waist pleats for a pretty and feminine finishing touch. 

Again this would be a great dress to take you from cooler into warmer days because you could easily wear it as a pinafore with a long or short sleeved T shirt underneath or even a lightweight polo or turtleneck if it’s really cold. 

A medium weight, non stretch fabric is recommended, I think it would look great in a linen, linen blend or cotton twill or a light denim or chambray would look great too. 

I think this one would look lovely with sandals in the summer, boots in the winter or trainers for the in between and of course you can shorten or lengthen the length as you prefer!

Alameda Dress by Nina Lee

The Alameda Dress is a bias cut slip dress. Now, there are a lot of slip dress patterns out there but what I liked about this one was the drapey cowl neckline and nipped in waist. The bodice is joined separately to the skirt so you get that fitted waist area which is different to other slip dresses which are usually cut in one piece.

You can make this pattern as a skirt, but as a transitional piece I think the dress would work really nicely because you could style it with a long or short sleeved T shirt underneath for when it’s chilly. Or, if you’re making this in the depth of the colder months still, you can pop a sweater over the top and you get that lovely sweater, slinky skirt/sweater combo which is everywhere at the moment. Of course, when and if we do have warmer weather, you can then wear the dress on it’s own as a lovely sun dress! 

Fabrics recommended for this one are those with plenty of drape. For example, crepe, viscose, silk, linen.

Personally, I would sew this one from a crepe, silk or satin in a neutral colour or a navy or black because I think that would look lovely with either a casual shirt thrown over or a nice cosy cardigan for when you’re feeling cold. 

Again, so many ways you can style these kinds of dresses, they look lovely dressed up with heels or sandals but being a casual girl myself, I love the look of satin skirts and dresses with trainers and pumps.

McCalls M8552 Misses Dress with Sleeve Variations

Another McCalls pattern and I have to say I’m liking a lot of their new range, it’s unusual for me to include many big 4 patterns in my pattern round ups, I’m usually much more of an indie pattern kind of girl, but there you go. I absolutely love the look of this new pattern for it’s vintage style, it’s so 60s isn’t it! It reminds me of something you’d see on call the midwife or something… 😉

This is a fully lined, fitted, slightly A line shift dress pattern. There are french darts, a polo collar, front placket opening, invisible back zipper and patch pockets. View A has short sleeves. View B and C have long sleeves with button cuffs and continuous lap opening. View C has a contrast collar and cuffs.

I’ve included this one as a transitional piece because you can make it with either long or short sleeves and I think both would work well for springtime. Short sleeves can be layered with a cardigan or jacket and even tights if needed. The long sleeved version can be worn bare legged with trainers or leggings if you need them. 

This dress needs a fabric with a little bit of structure. If you want to make this with a really vintage look, go for a boucle, tweed or wool although obviously do think about how warm those fabrics might become in spring. Denims and twills would also be a good option. Personally, I would sew this up in either a denim or a twill fabric probably in a solid colour so that I still had that nod to vintage in the style of the dress but I think the denim or solid twill would just make it that little bit more modern and utility style. 

By the way if you like this style but this is a little too vintage for you, Named Clothing have a similar but possibly more modern dress called the Lovisa Dress which I very much have my eye on for summer. This one is a long sleeved but I’m sure the sleeves could be shortened if necessary.

Emerald Dress by Style Arc

Another shirt dress I know, but honestly they are everywhere at the moment! This is one of Style Arc’s latest pattern releases, it’s a midi length shirt dress, fully button down with a collar on a stand, optional patch pockets at the breast and an optional waist tie. What I liked about this pattern was the fact that the sleeves are also optional (there are a lot of options with this one!). The sleeveless version of this dress has a dropped shoulder which just covers your shoulders a little but if you want the sleeves, the dress shape is the same, the sleeves are just added so you still have that relaxed dropped shoulder feature.

For transitional and layering purposes, look how they’ve style this one on the pattern image, over a full length pair of trousers, I thought that was a really interesting look and something a little different. Also perfect if you’re wearing this out and it gets a little bit hot, you can just whip your trousers off and you have a ready made summer outfit!

Of course with either of these versions sleeved or unsleeved, you could always add a long sleeved top or turtle neck underneath until ther weather is nice enough to wear it without!

Recommended fabrics for this one are linen, cotton poplin, silk, rayon. Quite a wide range, so it’s helpful to think about the type of finish you want to achieve. If you want a really structured look with an emphasis on the sharp collar and big puffy sleeves, go for something with weight such as a cotton or linen. If you want something more floaty and swishy, go for a viscose, rayon or a viscose, rayon blend.

I love the fabrics they’ve used on the pattern image, the white looks great. I also think this would look lovely in a stripe so maybe a navy or a khaki stripe cotton. All types of shoes could be involved in this one, trainers, boots, sandals, heels, flats they would all work really well.

I hope you enjoyed this little round up of five new dress patterns to sew for spring. Do let me know in the comments which is your favourite. Or, do you not like any of them? I’d still love to know…

Take care and happy sewing!

Lots of love

Sally xx