This mid-century wool jersey dress uses engineered seaming details to give interest to a simple silhouette. The designer, Marion McCoy (1912–1960), manipulated the fabric with merging darts and innovative seaming to sculpt a form-fitting, meticulously crafted day dress with a furled cuff.

For this design, she also created a shaped hem on the dolman sleeves. The visual effect is of a sleeve that wraps around the forearm, but the method is more straightforward: A simple change along the hem edge of a two-piece dolman sleeve pattern yields a shape that combines geometry with an organic line. You can modify any sleeve pattern that has an under- and overarm seam for the same style.

Adapt a two-piece sleeve pattern

Convert a sleeve pattern that has an under- and overarm seam by shaping the hemline and adding a deep facing. Begin by removing the original hem allowances from the front and back sleeve patterns.

 

1 Add a cut-on back hem facing. Make it 5-1⁄2 inches deep, and shape it to reflect the sleeve back’s lower portion.

2 Shape the front hemline. On the overarm seamline, make a mark 2-1⁄2 inches above the original hemline. Draw a diagonal line from this point to the hemline at the underarm seamline. Add a 3⁄8-inch-wide hem allowance along this new hemline.

3 Create a front hem facing. Make a mark 5-1⁄2 inches above the new hem seamline on the underarm seamline. Trace the lower portion of the new sleeve front pattern from this level to the hemline.

4 Cut the fabric. Using the new sleeve front and back patterns, cut the sleeves and front facing.

 

Construct the sleeve

Assemble the sleeves with their hem facings for a clean finish. Start by making self-fabric bias tubes for button loops, and covering six small buttons with fabric.