Maxi dress hack

Today I like to show you another hack that you can easily make using your favourite top pattern.

As the temperature in London finally is bearable again I have decided to make myself a simple maxi dress from a jersey fabric that I had in my stash. I had purchased this fabric a while ago and had 2 meters, which considering that I’m only 150cm I knew it was a perfect amount.

I have used once again my trusted Agnes top pattern by Tilly and the buttons and marked the waist line. I like to have a separate pattern for each project to save time in the future, and copied the existing front and back bodice pattern pieces with all necessary notches and grain line marking, up to the waist line and included a 1.5 cm seam allowance.

When you are ready cut and sew the bodice as usual including side and shoulder seams, neck band and sleeves.

Measure the length of the skirt you require starting from waistline and add seam allowance. This is optional and it depends on your style, but I took the entire width of the fabric to get as much volume while gathering. Stitch together along the salvage. This gives you one seam so it is up to you where you want to place it. Most desired placement would be centre back, however I opted to use it as style feature and created a slit in the front.

Gathering jersey fabric can be a bit tricky so to make the process easier I recommend using an elastic. First measure your waist and take away about 2 cm, this is the length of the elastic you need to cut. Sew together the ends and divide it in 4 sections. Skirt part also needs to be divided in 4 equal sections. Now pin together the elastic to the skirt part matching each quarter. Using zigzag stitch sew it within seam allowance stretching the elastic to accommodate the excess of the fabric, but do not stretch the fabric.

Now all that needs to be done is attach it to the bodice and finish the hem as normal.