A Cozy Wiksten Shift Dress Perfect for the Holidays at Home

With the holidays looking quite different this year, it felt like the perfect time to sew a comfy and festive outfit to keep my spirits bright. I’d always set my sights on making a Wiksten Shift Dress, since it is a simple, minimalistic pattern, that looks stylish yet timeless, and beautiful in a variety of fabrics. It’s flowy, loose-fitting features would also make for the perfect cozy, pregnancy garment.

I was surprised with how simple the Wiksten Shift Dress pattern actually was to sew. Beginner sewists and beyond will easily be able to complete this pattern, and learn or refine sewing skills along the way. I enjoyed learning how to sew back gathers through this pattern.

I purchased and downloaded the PDF pattern version, and it took me longer to piece together and cut out pattern pieces, than it did to complete the entire dress. I actually hit a personal record with this project, finishing the dress in a total of two days!

Overall, the instructions are simple, though I feel that compared to other patterns the steps are a bit sparse and not as user-friendly as they could be. The illustrations are also a bit confusing at times. Compared to the other pattern I have tried from Wiksten, the Haori Jacket, this pattern was much more straight-forward and easier to follow, with less steps involved. This pattern also provides options to create a cropped top or calf-length dress with side slits.

Plein Vanity- Wiksten Shift Dress_no waist tie

Worn without the waist tie.

I sewed a size 0 in this pattern, using the ¾ sleeve option and short dress length. While I expected the finished garment to be loose and less true to a normal size 0 (Wiksten patterns for me are more oversized), I was very pleased with the overall fit. Especially making things for my fluctuating pregnant body, Wiksten sizing is a welcome addition to “me-made” pieces for my maternity closet.

The short dress version of this pattern called for 2 ¾ yards of 42” wide fabric or 2 ⅝ yards of 54” wide fabric. I was able to squeeze out this dress with 2 ½ yards of 52” wide fabric with some pattern-cutting adjustments. I had to piece together fabric remnants in order to create a long waist tie belt.

I love the wide and loose sleeves on this dress. I often cuff the sleeves just so they stay out of my way, but also don’t mind the full length and width when worn uncuffed. I was also very excited to break out my serger to finish all the seams of this dress. Along with pressing seams, I think serging really helped to make this look and feel like a very well-made dress, and I’m looking forward to the longevity that comes with serged seams.

The two large, sturdy pockets sewn onto the front of the dress not only add a bit of flair, but really do come in handy. (I never say no to pockets!) The belt is an optional accessory, and with my growing belly, I’m not totally sold on the way it looks, but it definitely adds versatility to the dress.

For me, the most difficult part of this project was completing the collar. Not sure why I always get hung up on collars for Wiksten patterns (same deal with the Haori Jacket), but it took me three attempts (and ripping out my failed attempts) before I finally got the collar on correctly and to my liking.

I had this dress in mind when I ordered the fabric from Stonemountain & Daughter Fabrics (a lovely online fabrics store based in Berkeley, CA). I used their Crinkle Double Gauze in Currant, a festive deep berry shade and 100% cotton fabric. The fabric is super soft, lightweight, and the perfect lounge-worthy fabric for this dress.

Crinkle Double Gauze fabric featuring a special label I sewed in, also from Stonemountain & Daughter.

The thin, textured fabric was a bit of a pain to sew, especially difficult when I made mistakes and tried to pull out stitches. (It easily created holes!) Yet, I really love the overall look and feel that I think it was well worth it, especially as a fan of double gauze fabric. If I were to wear this dress out in public, I’d probably wear a dark slip underneath, since it is slightly transparent at some angles and just to layer this for extra warmth.

Overall, I am so pleased with how this came out, it looks elegant yet feels as comfy as pajamas. Plus, the quick and easy pattern was a delight to sew. I’m certainly going to make more versions of this dress (and the top) and in a variety of fabrics!