Ogden Cami Hack - Tiered Dress
Oh my, it sure has been a loooooong time since I posted a blog about my latest make. It’s not because I have not been sewing, it’s just because life got in the way, on top of the holidays, the pandemic (COVID-19), and adjusting to the new normal at home. But I don’t need to explain all that, since I know everyone out there has been going through similar experiences as moi.
Now, after 6+ months of staying home and social distancing, life is feeling a little more settled to the new normal, so little by little - I’m working my old habits back into the new life. Nowadays, if I’m not working on my new site (IndiePatterns.com), my other side gig (SewMeiMei), then I’m either doing some housework, knitting, playing with the dog or binge watching shows. Since I do a lot of sewing for SewMeiMei, I haven’t been doing much for myself.
Then August came around and it was Ogden Month and my IG feed filled up with all these Ogden and hacks. This reignited my desire to hack the Ogden and make a dress. I’ve been wanting to do this since I saw Merrill (@twodogs_and_a_sewingmachine)’s post about how she hacked a top to make a tiered dress. I was like - wow she makes it look so easy - surely I can do that too!
I debated if I wanted to use the Ogden or the Gemma tank to use as the base, and went with the Ogden because I see a lot of similar tiered dresses with the spaghetti straps, but haven’t seen many with the broad “straps” as tiered dress. But now that I know how to make this dress, I might just make another one using the Gemma tank.
For the fabric - I had 2 options: dark blue chambray or light blue herringbone chambray. I was about to ggo with the dark blue chambray but I kept thinking - my closet is full of dark blue clothing, and I wanted to work on something that’s not ME. I really want to expand on my wardrobe choices and be more out of my comfort zone with clothes. So last minute, I grabbed the light chambray and started cutting the top before I had time to overthink it. Keep reading to find out how I hacked the Ogden and turned it into a gathered dress!
Ogden Cami Hack into a tiered dress using a herringbone chambray.
I cut the fabric same as I would for any Ogden top, expect I cut the top short at my natural waistline (for both the main and lining so they are both the same length). I honestly don’t know what measurement this was because I just winged it! Then I followed Merrill’s mini tutorial on her post and cut 4 additional pieces: 2 pieces of 21.5” X 12.5”, and 2 pieces of 32” X 12.5”. I then proceeded to sew the Ogden top per usual instructions, but instead of hemming the bottom part, here’s what I did:
Using the two 21.5” X 12.5” pieces - right sides together, sewed up the sides with 3/8” seam allowance and finish the seams (I serged), essentially making a big circle. Do the same thing with the 32” X 12.5” pieces. Now you should have large pieces, one at roughly 42” circumference X 12.5” long, and another at 63” circumference X 12.5” long.
Grab the 42” X 12.5” piece and gather the fabric on one side until the circumference matches the bottom of the Ogden. In my instance, it’s 28”. Pin the Ogden top with this piece of fabric right sides together and matching side seams. Then serge them together (you can also sew together and finish seams with your desired method) because I thought this was the fastest way.
Grab the 63” X 12.5” piece now and gather the top opening from 63” to 32” in circumference. This will then match to the bottom of the first gathered piece on Step 2. Again, right sides together, matching side seams, pin and serge the edges.
Final step is to hem the bottom of the 63” circumference piece, which at this point is now the bottom hem of your dress. I, again, used the serger and then folded 1/2 inch and straight stitch the hem.
Make sure you remove the threads if you used the sewing machine to stitch loose thread for gathering the skirt part. And you’re done!
it’s so breezy and bouncy!
Herringbone Chambray light blue from Discount Fabrics.
Strolling down to grab some lunch.
Hopefully my instructions weren’t too difficult to follow. I wished I had taken pictures of every step, but because this was my first test, I just wanted to sew and see if it turned out. And it sure did! I’ll make sure to take step pictures for when I try this hack again with the Gemma. In the meantime, feel free to let me know if you have any questions!
As always, Happy Sewing and hope everyone is staying safe!
