The Core Tee Pattern is such a great canvas for hacking! I haven't made an hourglass dress before, but I used to have a RTW one that I wore all the time. The color blocking mimicking the shape of an hourglass is such a flattering shape illusion for my figure.
The most important detail for this hack is that I kept the front and back panels exactly the same and just extended them 11". I got this number from laying the Dream Tee dress pattern over the top and figuring out how much longer it is. By not adjusting the flare of these pieces, the hour glass color blocking illusion is achieved.
Since the hem of the core tee pattern ends at the hip, I knew I would need some extra room to accommodate my lower hip/rear end measurement when lengthening it into a dress. In order to do this while preserving the shape on the front, I added the flare in the side panels. I placed my ruler at the lengthen shorten line and flared out - not much because I still wanted a pencil skirt, but just enough to fit. For me that was less than a couple inches on each side of the side panel.
Cut. Sleeves and neckband pieces are unchanged (I folded my long sleeve piece in half to get an elbow length)
Using a different fabric for the side panel is what shows off the hourglass shape.
Assemble per the original pattern tutorial.
Sew
My favorite aspect of this hack - it's almost an optical illusion. From the side you can see how the sidepanel has been flared a bit to accommodate my measurements.
But from the front, this is the silhouette of all the professional dresses I shop for at high end department stores and struggle because if it fits well in my shoulders, it's too tight on my hips. Now I can have the dress I've been admiring! In every fabric! This make is scuba and honeycomb.
PS - I'll be back soon for more hacks! See the whole hack blog tour by visiting this category and watching for new ones to get added!
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