The Pareo Dress

This latest style is heavily influenced by the number of scarves and wraps used as styling devises at the Spring/Summer 2026 designer collections. 

I felt an integrated wrap on a simple summer dress would be so flattering to wear either on holiday or layered over leggings or trousers on cooler days.

The name Pareo Dress comes from the wrap-a-round garment or cloth worn in Indonesia.

I knew that the dress itself should have clean lines, to allow the wrap to be the focus. So I opted for a simple round neck, pull-on dress that is loose but not baggy and slightly A-line in silhouette. (the image above shows the longer length dress without the wrap) 

The wrap pieces are cut with the top edge on the grain so that when the wrap is tied the wrap doesn’t stretch. The longer lower edge is at an angle to the grain and this gives slightly, making the dress more comfortable to walk in. 

More about the fit:

There are bust darts that come from the armhole, so that the top section above the bust is neat to the body. Below the bust, the dress is a loose fit so that once the wrap is tied, the top blouses slightly to create a flattering silhouette. 

If you fall between the sizes given on the Pattern Detail, there is enough ease to select the smaller size. At the same time if you are top or bottom heavy, graduate between the sizes. As with most of our patterns, The Pareo Dress pattern pieces are nested making it possible to graduate between sizes as necessary.

The wrap itself is asymmetric, with the right-hand side larger that the left, so that the tie sits to the left of centre, when worn. If you are left-handed you may wish to reverse this so that the tie sits to the right of centre.

The pattern pieces are for the shorter length dress shown here. The longer length sample shown below has been lengthened by 20cm / 8 inches. 

This longer length is simply achieved by extending the pattern pieces. Side slits are required to allow movement when walking and instructions are given for these in the pattern. The longer length requires an additional 40cm / ½ yard fabric to the quantities given in the pattern detail. 

Fabric Details: 

This style is designed for lighter weight woven fabrics. This navy and white polka dot is a lightweight silk with great drape and suits this style perfectly.

The white dress above was made using double gauze cotton and the wrap in a lighter plain cotton. The wrap in double gauze would add too much bulk. 

This dress is in Tana lawn and works well as a day dress. 

But my favourite examples are both in semi sheers. This full length one is in a polyester sheer: the bright stripes really lend themselves to a high summer holiday dress. 

The dress over trousers is a key look for this summer and this example of The Pareo Dress in a cotton voile works really well layered over The Classic Trouser and The Blazer. 

For this sample the wrap edges, as well as the neckline, have been finished with self-fabric bias-binding. It works particularly well with this thin voile type fabric. It required a total of 4.5 metres of bias-binding. 

Sewing ability:

This style suits an intermediate sewer however a confident beginner could tackle it but care is needed not to stretch the fabric especially on the longer edge of the wrap pieces.