Dress Design for Shabby Apple Dresses

Let me preface this by saying I am not a designer, a seamstress, or an artist. But for some reason, I thought it would be fun to design a few dresses for Shabby Apple's Dare to Design contest.

I started doing a few sketches and was quickly reminded of why I never took Art in school.

I cannot draw.

In fact, I'm terrible at drawing, especially if it involves people. The shoulders look all big and awkward and the arms and legs are way too long and the face is always creepy.

I took a few minutes during my lunch break to come up with a few dresses to share with the world. I made sure that the pictures didn't have weird, out of proportion body parts attached.

Without further ado (and probably to much criticism), here are my dress design submissions for Shabby Apple Dresses.


1st Dress design for Shabby Apple dresses

I colored this dress to be green with yellow trim and now I am second-guessing the color scheme. I like the simplicity of the lines and feel that the dress could be versatile with these simple colors, but I would probably opt for a subtle floral cotton print for the main fabric. Maybe a green background to keep with the colors seen here.

This reminded me of something a little girl would wear to school, but I think it could easily be worn by adult women as well. The shirtdress is such a classic piece and I love that it's back in style once again. The skirt of the dress is a simple A-line, but could be flared more to be more of a 50s style. I like the buttons down the entire front of the dress...that's where I started when I began the designing. I can also see this dress having a feminine-looking, sheer overlay fabric with a solid lining underneath.

2nd Dress design for Shabby Apple dresses

I wanted to use pleating all over in this dress. Many women have trouble styling or accessorizing with their outfits. This dress practically accessorizes for you. With the pleated neckline and wide pleating at the middle, there is no need for a necklace or belt. The dress takes care of that for you.

I love aqua and red together. They are so contrasting and coordinating. How do they look so different, but complement each other so well? The fabric would be a mid-weight cotton. I like this splotchy aqua look for the main fabric, but a different print or solid would look good as well. The pleating on the bottom of the sleeve and on the belt of the dress would have elastic and would stretch a little.

3rd (and my favorite) Dress design for Shabby Apple dresses

When I first thought of entering the contest, I thought it would just be something fun to do. But a few nights ago, before bed, I randomly thought of a dress that would be perfect for the spring and something that I would love to wear as well. I wanted something adorable, feminine, airy...just...darling.

The sleeves are flutter (or butterfly) sleeves. They could also work as layered pieces that flutter/move with the arm. The neckline is a scalloped-looking scoop neck. Pearl buttons lining the bodice, ending at an empire waist with a thin ribbon belt. Simple A-line skirt to flatter all body shapes, ending at the knee with a visible ruffle-hemmed slip/lining.

The main fabric of the dress is a light white cotton with tiny little black polka dots and splashes of colors from random flowers. I used red in these flowers, but I think various colors in the flowers or another color (such as blue or purple or orange) would work as well. The yellow was used for the pearl buttons, ribbon belt, and ruffle.

I hope you enjoyed looking over my designs. I'm hoping this will encourage me to try my hand at sewing myself a dress...perhaps one that I've designed myself.

See you next time.