If you love it as a top- Why not a dress?

I'm a big fan of using one pattern to create many different garments.  One thing I've been playing around with recently is taking a favorite top pattern and making it into a dress.  Once you have a top pattern adjusted to fit you perfectly, adding a skirt is easy!

To create this dress I started with the Key Hole Top from Christine Jonson.  There are many things I like about this top.  First, the key hole opening makes this top stand out from your average tank.  Second, it's reversible, so the pattern can be two tops in one, or the second layer can be made as a lining.  Third, it comes together in a snap!  I think the fact that it's lined actually makes construction faster because I don't have to turn under and press all of the edges then try to get my coverstitch machine to behave nicely.

This project actually started with a great cobalt blue knit that I found at Joann Fabrics.  I loved the color instantly and the interesting texture created by pleats sewn into the fabric made it a must have.  The texture of the fabric told me it needed a simple pattern - either that or I'm just not that creative!  A tank dress instantly came to mind but the light weight knit needed to be lined.  I was looking for a tricot lining, but the best I could find was a nude netting.  I'm very pleased with how this fabric worked as a lining.

To turn the Key Hole Top into a dress, I added the skirt portion of Jalie 3024.  To add the skirt to the top I simply matched the hip notch on both patterns and traced over the combination of the top and Jalie skirt.  In the below picture you can see how I matched the patterns together.  Then I put tracing paper over everything and outlined it to create a front dress.  I followed the same steps to create the back pattern.

Because I was using the mesh fabric as a lining, I cut the neckline, and arm holes 1/8 an inch smaller than the outer layer to ensure the inside fabric would be smaller and pull the outside fabric just sightly underneath to completely hide the nude mesh.  It worked like a charm!  Extra bonus, the mesh lining acts like a slip without adding any weight to the dress.  I didn't even hem the mesh - I just cut it off 1/2 inch shorter than the skirt!  Here is a picture of the mesh lining:

The first adjustment I made to the Key Hole Top was to add 1 inch to the width of the arm straps.  I have broad shoulders and feel that a more substantial shoulder looks better than a thin strap.  When I tried on the dress I thought the front looked great, but the back looked too big.  Rather than skimming along the shape of my back - you couldn't see any shape in my back.  A couple of darts would have easily solved the problem, but because of the lines created by the pleats in the fabric, I didn't want any darts in this dress.  So, I carefully pinned out the extra fabric on only the back side from my mid to lower back.  The result was basically a narrowed waistline on the back.  It took a couple of tries to get the back adjustment just right -but I'm very happy with the effort.  From the back, the dress skims along the outline of my back, creating a flattering silhouette.  Here is a picture of the front and back patterns side by side.  The back pattern has the more distinctive waist curve.  You might wonder - why is the front waistline so obviously wider than the back pattern?  I purposely made the front waist line straighter (with less curve) for more ease in the front stomach area.  Now I can go out to dinner and if I have a big meal my dress will still fit when I leave the restaurant!

Another added bonus of this dress  - the fabric doesn't wrinkle and it can be packed up into a small ball in my suitcase.  Which I did when I packed it on our Oregon road trip!  

So, if you have a favorite top pattern, why not make it into a dress?  You'll have a guaranteed winner!

Here is a version of the Key Hole Top I made for a friend: