IKEA shift dress and flared sleeve tutorial |

I’m not sure if it is a parenting flaw on my behalf, but my three girls consider a trip to Ikea worth bargaining for. They love visiting Smaland, even though it’s always a small miracle if there are ever enough spaces to take them all in. But even if they don’t get in, they’re at an age now that it is really quite enjoyable walking around and finding things together – things that we never knew we needed.

This is not the first time I’ve been fabric shopping at IKEA. A few years ago I made made curtains, bento bags, and a couple of small dresses with IKEA fabric. This time around, I purchased two yards of stiff cotton with the intention of making a midi skirt or a shift dress. It seems that the shift dress won out in the end.

The pattern I used is based on this floral dress from last year. It’s a very basic, self-drafted shift dress, with flared extensions added to the sleeves.

There are plenty of patterns you could use to acheive this simple design.

Vintage shift dress patterns are a dime a dozen. Ebay and Etsy both have heaps. I’ve just looked!
Papercut Patterns Sea-Bell dress is a more fitted style, but quite an expensive option for such a simple dress.
Megan Nielsen Dove top is another to consider. It would be easy to extend into a dress, and the sleeves are already done for you.
The Tessuti Fabrics Maggie Tunic would work well with the addition of flared sleeves.

The above sewing patterns are options, but if you already have a TNT, darted T-shirt, shift dress, or even a nice sheath, it isn’t difficult to add flared sleeves. All you need to do is measure the circumference of the sleeve you are adding to and decide on the length of flare you want.

First, decide which dress/top pattern you want to use:

Now it’s time to create the sleeve extension: