Guest Post: Gyasti Shows us a Sagebrush Dress Hack

This guest post was written by Gyasti Averia. Gyasti is an Indonesian born, LA based sewist/maker with 2.5 years of sewing experience. Linen is her favorite fabric to use, and she mostly work with indie patterns! You can find more of her makes on Instagram @gyasti and on her website at gyasti.com.

You can shop the Sagebrush Top pattern here.

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The Sage top pattern has dramatic puffed sleeves and cute ruffles on the front. This pattern feels vintage-inspired, so I hacked the pattern in a way that emphasizes that vintage look. The dress turned out to be something in between a cute nightgown and a trendy picnic dress, which I don’t mind at all. 

This top has a simple construction with no button or zipper closure. The neckline is bound using a bias binding that extends and turns into the back tie. The sleeves have elastic cuffs so they easily adjust to the size of your forearms. There’s a lot of ease around the bust area which is another reason why this top is an easy one to fit!

Fabric-wise, I used some lovely italian gingham linen shirting from Fabric Mart (https://www.fabricmartfabrics.com/) to make this dress. The linen is soft and has a beautiful texture, which adds to the whole “cute nightgown” look. This dress took about 2.5 yards of 58” wide fabric. 

Turning the Sage top pattern into a tiered dress is a quick and simple process. The top itself took about 2-3 hours to sew, and it took me another 2 hours to finish the tiered skirt. To determine the width of the skirt panels, I used the pattern piece from the Wilder Gown and lengthened or shortened it to size as needed. The tiers are 28" and 9" long including the seam allowances, and I'm 5'1" tall for reference. 

I made a size XS and cropped about 8” of the front and back bodice pattern pieces so that the skirt would start at my high waistline. Additionally, you may add some waist ties or a belt to cinch in the waist area. 

Overall, this pattern was fun to make! I used to find gathers fairly frustrating, but after completing this pattern, I feel much more confident about gathering in general.

I hope you enjoy this make as much as I do.

Best,

Gyasti