I’m ready for an X Factor Dress with adequate support up top that’s easy, cool, comfortable, and has something fun going on. Are you with me??
Now – I realize it might SEEM like a bit of a stretch to take your favorite sports bra pattern and turn it into a dress. But I’m not going to lie, this is one of my best decisions ever!
Want to learn how to do it??
GOOD NEWS FOR YOU – I want to teach you.
Before you start you are going to need two things.
- A copy of the X Factor pattern (of course)
- Another is a dress pattern you like. The dress pattern should be an empire waist style, where the “skirt/dress” part joins under the bust band.
I used the 5 out of 4 Escapade dress to draft the lower part of my skirt! It’s style was similar enough that I was able to easily make it work with the top of the X Factor. As you can see, it has an empire bodice that joins under the bust and was a length/style I was going for with my dress!
(Oh look it’s me, circa 2016! Ish!)
Can I just make the dress by drawing it freehand?
YES – of course that is an option – but to do that you MUST have a good understanding of how a dress shape will differ from a tank shape, and be able to grade it smoothly to a dress length.
Drafting Your Pattern Pieces
Cut out the X Factor bra pieces as directed in the pattern. Use the TANK/TANKINI cut line on the front and back bands (rather than the bra cut line).
Next, cut the skirt portion of your dress pattern.
Once you have your pieces, lay them out as shown. This is what is going to show you how you need to modify your pattern pieces to play nicely together! Again, I am using the Escapade dress as my skirt pattern piece and the X Factor as the top.
Notice here that the front pieces line up really well – the size small in both patterns aligns pretty perfectly at that bra band. (I printed both the small and medium in the skirt – I am close to the line between the small and medium in the hip so I wanted to grade further down! But at the bra band I was lining up the small sizes.)
The back pieces, however, are a little different. There is about an inch of difference between the size small Escapade and the size small X Factor band.
To avoid changing the shape of the Escapade dress portion too much, I split the difference between the two pattern pieces. I carefully graded the top of the dress portion in so that it was only about half an inch wider than the back band pattern piece. Then when I sewed it, I eased the extra bit of fabric in.
As a last check, make sure that your front and back pieces end up the same length!
Cut and Sew your Dress!
Now you can cut out your dress pieces and sew them together! Follow the instructions provided in the X Factor tutorial. The process is exactly the same as sewing a tank!
And just like that you have a super cute, fun, supportive and EASY summer dress!!
As always, we’re here to help if you need it! Join us HERE and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and Pinterest. We’re everywhere you are.
Oh this is inspiring! And very pretty! 😍 I need this version!