bistro dress to easy shift: a building block dress tutorial

Many of you have been curious about the Building Block Dress book and how its principles can be applied to other sewing patterns, even those intended for women's clothing. I’d like to share an example of how this book has inspired me to approach sewing patterns in a fresh way. My hope is that once you begin altering patterns as shown in the book, you'll start seeing clothing differently. Instead of fixating on the image on the pattern envelope, focus on the underlying structure of the design. Regardless of the fabric shown on the pattern cover, what truly matters is understanding the design's framework and thinking about how you can modify it to create entirely different styles. Take a look at this example. For quite some time, I've had these two images saved in a Pinterest folder. Both dresses are adorable, and I thought it would be fun to replicate a similar style. The white Emerson Fry dress caught my eye particularly because I adore its silhouette, the hip seam, and the pockets. I also had some perfect sateen fabric from Robert Kaufman that I wanted to use for my dress. I decided to start with one of my proudest creations, the Liesl + Co Bistro Dress. At first glance, it doesn't resemble the images above, does it? This is a classic sheath dress pattern, and I'm especially proud of it because I spent considerable time perfecting its structure and details. It's one of my block patterns, and I’m particularly pleased with the armhole and sleeve design, which turned out beautifully. I knew this pattern would serve as a great foundation, even though it looks nothing like the inspiration photos. Here's how I went about transforming it: First, I began with the front and back dress pieces. Right away, I created a muslin (for more details, refer to pages 7-11 of the Building Block Dress book). I removed the waist darts from both pieces to achieve a looser fit through the waist, aligning it more closely with the inspiration photos. Next, I used the muslin to decide where adjustments needed to be made to the basic pattern. Here are the modifications I made: - I marked where I wanted the hip seam to be on my body, roughly 1/2 inch below the tip of the un-sewn dart. (Refer to the red line on the illustration below and consult Color Blocking on page 90 of the Building Block Dress book.) - I added a bit more width to the skirt itself, starting from the hip line on the pattern piece and increasing by 1 1/4 inches at the hem. (This modification is inspired by the A-line dress instructions on page 82 of the book, but I only flared at the side seam.) - I shortened the hem to a few inches above my knee (refer to Lengthening and Shortening a Pattern on page 12) and determined the desired depth of the neckline. I marked the neckline depth on my muslin (see Shaped Neckline on page 117). - I kept the back seam of the original pattern to allow for contouring the back of the dress. The side seams already have a nice curve, and since I eliminated the darts, I wanted to curve the back a bit more. To determine how much swayback I wanted, I pinned the muslin in a few spots along the back seam. (The sewing term "swayback" reminds me of an old horse, so I avoid using it when possible.) - For the next dress, I plan to raise the neckline by 1/2 inch, matching the seam allowance. This means I’ll simply add 1/2 inch of seam allowance to the existing neckline. Here are some photos of the muslin itself for your reference. You can see how I used it as a working draft of the dress. This allowed me to finalize all the details and changes I wanted to make to the pattern before cutting into my fabric. I determined the final hem length, the placement of the hip seam, and the amount of flair to give the skirt. It also ensured that I didn’t have to worry during the actual sewing process. I could confirm the fit, check the proportions, and ensure I liked the shape and positioning of all the details. Here’s a quick look at my muslin. You can see in this photo where I indicated the final hem length. It’s always wise to try on your muslin with undergarments and shoes similar to what you’ll wear with the finished garment to get a better sense of the final appearance. Here is a close-up of the side seam at the hem where I added a wedge of fabric to flair the skirt slightly. As you can see, I also drew on the dress with a Sharpie while wearing it to mark approximately where I wanted the hip seam to be located. Muslins are your working drafts; use them to your advantage! Once I was satisfied with the fit of the muslin, I transferred the changes back to my pattern pieces and added hip seam pockets to the front pattern pieces. (I modified the In-Seam Pockets instructions on page 98 of the book.) The pockets are similar to those on our Liesl + Co Bento Tee and the Oliver + S Book Report Dress and Lunch Box Tee, if you already own any of those patterns. Next, I focused on the facings. I raised the neckline of the facings by 1/2 inch to match the revised neckline of the dress and extended the bottom of the front facing to accommodate the deeper V of the new neckline. (Refer to Internal Neck Facing on page 118.) I also shortened the sleeve, marking the desired finished length on my muslin to check the proportions on my body. After that, sewing the dress was straightforward and quick, especially since I knew I didn’t need a side zipper for this version. Everything was clear, especially if you’ve sewn some of our other patterns before. If you're unsure about any of the changes you made to the pattern, refer to the sewing instructions for that section in the Building Block Dress book itself. I designed the book so you can refer to each section and assemble the dress based on the changes you make to the pattern. The sewing instructions are a significant part of this book; they're thorough so you don’t get lost once you’ve altered the pattern. And here is my finished dress! I wore it quite a bit on my trip last month and received plenty of compliments. I like it so much that I’m currently sewing another one in silk velvet for the holidays, which I’ll show you as soon as it’s finished. It’s been slow-going since each seam needs to be hand-basted before machine stitching, but now that I have the altered pattern, I can sew it as many times as I want or make other changes to the pattern using the techniques from the book whenever I have new ideas. I hope this gives you a good sense of how you can use the Building Block Dress book in sewing for yourself as well as sewing for the women in your life. Save

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