Ankara shift dress ✂️❤️

Hi, fellow needleworker, I hope you are having a nice day. A quick question: what do you do with a customer’s fabric that has been with you for over 4 years? Well, due to my limited storage space for old fabrics, I decided to make good use of it.
However, before I could use a customer's old fabric, I always seek their consent. So, I asked her if she still needed the fabric and she gave me the go-ahead.

I love how vibrant and colorful the fabric is. The fabric is an Ankara fabric, which is popular in most African countries. Mostly Ankara fabrics are colorful with unique patterns but this Ankara pattern is so beautiful.
After a long thought, I decided to make a simple dress with it. I love free and simple dresses because they are so easy to wear which makes my life easier.

This outfit was inspired by a dress made by ”éki-kéré” a Nigerian clothing brand. The simplicity and style in their mini dress just propelled me to make a similar dress. I am happy with the result and I think it looks cute on me.
The best part about making this dress is that, it is incredibly easy to make. Anybody can make it with just 3yards of your favorite Ankara fabric, a plain black or matching crepe or cotton material to mix it on the sleeve, a thread, and a sewing machine.

---

THE PROCESS

---

I fold my fabric in half and outline the pattern with chalk. Since it is an A-line dress, I don't need my waist and hip measurements. All I did was outline my shoulders, armhole, bust, and the circumference of the hem, and then I drew a straight line from the bust to the hem as illustrated in the picture below.

---

After I cut the neckline for the front and back piece.

---

Then I joined them together at the shoulders

---

I cut the sleeves sew a 5-inch black crepe at the bottom of the sleeves and sew the sleeves to the dress.

---

I joined the sides of the dress

---

Then I sew a 1.5-inch kimono collar to the neckline.

|

---

The neckline
|

This is the final look on me

---

---

Thank you for visiting my blog❤️✨

---

All images are mine. Thumbnail made by Canva