Top to Dress, or Do Remember You Have Hips
If you have ever seen a sewing pattern for a top and thought, “I would like that better as a dress,” it can be done. But usually you need more flare through the hipline than you would think. Remember that your hips are one measurement, then you need wearing ease, that is, enough fabric to give you room to move, and then design easy, that is, enough to create a graceful flow of fabric. Take a look at the width of skirts or dresses which have the silhouette you are aiming for before you begin altering the pattern. Even though this came as a tunic, it still needed more width to make a dress.
In addition to turning Butterick 5495 into a dress for the second time, I did two other alterations. I raised the front neckline by some 3 inches, and gave it a wide facing instead of the skinny one offered by the pattern. This skinny one kept flipping outward, which is so annoying, and by attaching to the seam allowance where the two front bodice pieces are seamed. You can only barely see that seam in the illustrations, but it helps allow for the draping.
I drafted that pattern piece from the original center bodice piece only to realize that, of course, it narrowed with the gathering at the center. So then I trimmed it to fit. I also raised the back neckline a bit too to create a flowing line; first by drafting, and then by draping it on my mannequin in order to achieve what I had in mind.
Although this pattern is no longer in print as it dates to 2010, you can find copies here and there on the web. Or, you could look through some of the knit patterns and start imagining.
