Free Tiered Dress Pattern PDF & Easy Sewing Tutorial.

Learn how to make this amazing dress with our Tiered Dress Pattern PDF free download and sewing tutorial.

This is the ideal time for a dress such as this one.

The perfect Summer Dress to sew for your holidays and pool parties. This tiered dress pattern is perfect for lightweight fabrics such as cotton or linens.

Its loose shape will keep you fresh and comfortable during these hot summer days.

Spring is halfway in. And that just means that I need to sew all the dresses!!

Weirdly enough, I’ve only owned one other tiered dress in my life before this one. 

Can you believe it?

I think that the reason for that was that my last dress had a peculiar bodice that made me look pretty… well, the word is unappealing.

But saw this fantastic flowy dress at Walt-Mart, and it looked so fresh and so comfortable that I just had to get it.

And so I did. I wore it, and it felt amazing, but it also looked amazing!

So, of course, I had to make a pattern for it so that I could make one zillion of copies of this dress for my summer days.

I was going to make this dress with an elastic waist, but I decided to have two looks. You can customize it with a belt just like this.

You know that despite having my Sewing Pattern Shop for Garments and Accessories, I still love to give you my patterns for personal use for free.

Just because I love you so much, this is a way to share my sewing happiness with people who actually appreciate it.

Are you ready to sew this cool dress? Let’s get started!

First things first.

What is a Tiered Dress?

A tired dress’s main characteristic is that it’s sewn with multiple overlapping layers, usually on the skirt area.

You can spot these dresses because they will have multiple hem skirt panels. Depending on the design, they can have the same or a different length.

Isn’t this interesting?

I didn’t know this design’s name until 5 minutes ago when I researched this post. If you did, please let me know in the comments.

Do you know what’s more interesting? This type of dress dates from the Victorian era and was related to wealth.

Because I mean, how else would you be able to pay for that much fabric? I mean, just take a look at this flowy skirt.

I just love history and fun facts like this one.

Also, the one I shared with you about the curiosity about Tomato Pincushions or the Peter Pan Collar Pattern.

See? You get a Free Pattern and an Icebreaker! We have the whole package here!

How do you Make a Tiered Dress Pattern?

Making a tiered dress is easier than you think. You just need any pattern of a bodice -it can be a t-shirt or, like in this case, a Camisole Top Pattern. 

Then you cut rectangular panels, which you need to gather and attach to the hem of each other to form the skirt. 

Each panel should be 10” to 20” longer than the latest. This way, you can create the tiered effect with a flowy skirt.

How long or short can I make my Tiered Dress Pattern?

You can customize the length of your tiered dress to be as long as you want by adding or removing panels on the skirt.

This dress pattern, for example, can be a midi length as it is. 

If you want to have a short dress, you can remove the bottom layer.

On the contrary, if you prefer it to be longer, you can add an extra layer at the bottom.

Just use the bottom panel pattern piece and add 10” to its length on one side of the pattern.

What sizes does this dress fit?

I used the measurements for this dress from our Medium size on the chest.

That is around a 40” chest girth. Everything under or over that can be customizable by grading the pattern.

As for the waist and hips, it can fit many measurements from Medium to Extra Large as the skirt has plenty of room.

My exact measurements from waist and hips are 32” and 54” in that order.

As always, remember we have a good selection of pattern-making books so you can better understand and modify your own patterns.

Tiered Dress Pattern Sewing Tutorial.

1. Download and Print your Free Sewing Pattern

You can find the link to download this Pattern at the bottom of this post. 

Sign up with the button below, and we will send it right into your inbox. Once it is printed, assemble it by trimming and taping the pages.

Below that, you will also find the printable version of these sewing instructions to download too.

I know that some of you prefer to have things on paper.

2. Prepare your Fabrics.

Always, always, always remember to pre-wash your fabrics before cutting the patterns!

Especially if those fabrics have any natural fibers, fabrics like cotton or linen tend to stretch or shrink after washing them.

After washing and drying, give them a good press and cut all your pattern pieces following the pattern-cutting symbols.

I did a pretty special thing on this dress that I am so proud of.

Do you know how I always tell you that fabrics cut on the bias need to be basted to avoid growth?

This time, I came up with a pretty cool thing to get even better reassurance that your necklines and armholes won’t grow.

I cut strips of ¼” of fusible interfacing.

Then I press them very carefully on the edge of the wrong side of the fabric of the necklines and armholes.

They hold their shape the entire time!

The last step of preparations is to serge each piece’s sides on the bodice and skirt panels.

3. Sew the Bodice Sides.

Match the front and back bodice pieces with the right sides of the fabrics facing together. 

Use pins or sewing clips to hold the sides together.

Sew the sides at ½” with a straight line. Press the seams open.

4. Sew Bias Tape on the Neckline

For this part, you can use bought bias tape. You can also make your own bias tape with the same fabric as your dress.

I used about 17” for each neckline.

Sew the bias tape to the front and to the back necklines. 

Cut off the excess.

5. Form the Shoulder straps.

Ok, before you say anything. I know straps should be sewn in one closed piece.

But I sew them like this on purpose so you could have room to fit the straps to your own comfort.

Cut a strip of bias tape of about 26” for each shoulder.

I sew bias tape starting from the back to the front. 

Then I tried on the dress and measured how long I wanted the straps to be.

I pinned them in place, and then sewed the end of the strap to the back.

6. Join the Skirt Panel’s sides.

Close each skirt panel by facing the rectangles together with the right sides of the fabric facing each other.

Then use a straight stitch to join the sides of the panels at ½.”

Press the seams open.

Repeat this process with each side of each of the three skirt panels.

7. Gather the Skirt Panels

Use the following directions to gather the top of each skirt panel.

You can use a gathering presser foot. 

Or, if you prefer, you can sew two parallel lines with the longest stitch length possible and then gather them to size by pulling the threads by hand.

• Your top panel should end up with a 21.5” gathered circumference.
• The middle panel should end up with a 36” gathered circumference.
• As for the bottom, the panel gathers it until you reach a 59” circumference.

8. Join the Skirt Tieres. 

You have to first join the top panel with the bodice to form the skirt.

Do this by matching the side seams with the right sides of the fabrics facing together. 

Then match the centers and pin the rest of the panel.

Sew at ½”, then serge the edges of the seams together and press the seams towards the bodice.

Repeat this process by joining the middle panel with the top panel’s hem.

Then sew the bottom panel to the middle panel’s hem.

9. Make the Hem 

This step is optional, but I decided to go easy with my hem.

I serge the edge of the hem and then fold it about ⅜”, then sew a straight line.

Finally, I pressed the seam flat.

Another option for this step is to use a blind hem presser foot or to simply fold the hem ½” twice and make a rolled hem.

That’s it! 

Now you have a new dress to wear all summer. 

Please let me know your thoughts about this dress pattern in the comments below, and don’t forget to visit all the other free sewing patterns we have for you.

Tiered Dress Pattern PDF Download

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