A pleated front to The Wrap Coat Dress

I’ve had this beautiful fabric for a few years and finally decided to make something easy and relaxed, but a little bit glam, ready for Christmas. This variation of The Wrap Coat Dress is the result.

I love the drape of this heavy viscose fabric even if its prone to a bit of creasing. I wanted to make the most of the sheen and my first thought was to add some gathers. I roughly tacked the fabric but it was too thick for the look I wanted so I decided to pleats were a better option. I really didn’t want to add too much fullness so I opted for four pleats on the right hand or outer front near the ribbon fastening.

On my pattern piece I marked the fold points for the pleats: 1cm in depth and 3cm apart. I chalked this onto the front. Once the pieces were cut out I simply folded the fabric at the chalk marks, pinned and then stitched in place. I amended the front facing by curving a line from the shoulder to just under the pleats; this would allow the front to flow more freely.

I used an overlocker to neaten my raw edges before making up as instructed in the pattern instructions. When it came to the front edges below the facing I simply turned the edges in by 1cm and hemmed.

Once finished I pressed the Wrap Dress and gave the pleats a light press too.