DIY Multi Wrap Dress

Today I have an amazing beginners’ sewing project for you. Have you ever heard of the multi wrap dress?
The dress, also know as infinity dress or 100 way dress, has one basic shape that can be worn in many different ways. It’s an amazing item to have!

I made mine years ago, in bright orange, to wear on Queensday. If you make it in black, you instantly have 100 little black dresses in your closet. In your wedding colours (blush or mint, anyone?), you can hand them out to your bridesmaids and have all of them choose their own style to wear. Adorable!
Depending on the kind of fabric you use you can make it casual or more dressy.

You will be amazed by how simple this is to make. The basic shape consist of a tube skirt, with two long rectangles at the top. The elastic band sits right under the bust.

To measure your fabric, you can simply wrap the fabric around your body so that it fits comfortably around your hips, then add a few extra inches and mark where you need to cut. For the length, hold the fabric at the bottom of your bra and mark at the desired length. You can make it a mini or maxi dress, or anything in between, it’s all up to you!

Cut out the marked fabric in a rectangle shape. Sew the sides together to make a tube. Hem the bottom. (I left mine unhemmed, I was a lazy 16-year-old.)

Make a hem at the top of your skirt, wide enough to fit an elastic. Make sure to leave one side open so you can insert your elastic. Measure the elastic around the bottom of your bra, and add an inch. Little tip: to thread an elastic through a hem, attach a safety pin to one end. It’s a lot easier to slide the fabric around the hard safety pin, than trying to force a flimsy elastic through! When you come back around to the opening, sew the ends of the elastic together and close off the hem.

Now cut a rectangle of about 2 m in length. For the width, put on the skirt, and measure the front half of your body. Add one inch for hem allowance. That’s the total width your rectangle should be. Cut it in half, and hem. Attach the rectangles to your skirt.

And that’s all! Really super simple! Now comes the fun part: experimenting with all the ways you can wear this. Let me demonstrate a few options.

This style is the same one as in the picture at the top of this post, only with the long pannels spread out wide as little cap sleeves.

For this style, give the pannels a twist in the front. In the back, wrap them around each other. Cross in the front and tie in the back.

For this style, twist the pannels in the front, then twist them around each other in the back to create a rope. When you reach your waist, bring the pannels to the front and tie them together.

For this style, drape one pannel over the shoulder, while wrapping the other one around the bust. Tuck the end of the first pannel, then take the one that is draped over the shoulder and wrap that around the bust as well. Tuck the end underneath the wrapped fabric.

For this style, tie a knot in the pannels, before bringing them back around your neck. Bring them back forward and underneath your arms, before tying them together in the back.

For this style, cross the pannels in the front and bring them over your shoulders. In the back, cross the pannels again and bring them forward around your waist, to tie them in the front.

For this style, wear the skirt above the breasts. Wrap the pannels around your body to make a bodycon type dress. Tuck the ends of the pannels underneath the wrapped fabric.

These are just a few of the options, the possibilities are endless!
Have fun experimenting!