Can culottes really become a dress? Yes! pants are just skirts with crotch curves, and a dress is just a skirt with a bodice on top! OK, maybe that is a little oversimplified, but my point is, you can take pattern hacking as far as you like. Your final garment may even be unrecognizable from the original!
For this pattern hack, I used the Winslow Culottes pattern available in my shop. The top is a bodice that I drafted, but a bodice from almost any fitted dress pattern that has a waist seam will work.
Here is how you modify the Winslows:
You have the option of connecting this skirt directly to your bodice, or you can keep the waistband from the Winslow pattern as a nice break between the skirt and bodice. See this Winslow jumpsuit hack for an idea of how that will look:
I made this dress from a cotton linen blend that has a very nice weight and a little stretch. The stretch helps make the bodice fit more comfortably, and the weight helps show off the pleats. I think that this would look great in a solid colour as well because the pleats would be more visible.
This dress is so comfortable and easy to dress up or down. Let me know if you have any questions about turning your Winslow Culottes into a dress!
About the author
8 Comments on “Winslow Culottes Dress Hack”
What a pretty dress!! I would never look at it and guess you started out with culottes and ended with a dress. Wow!! Brilliant!!!!
Your hacks are so inspiring and thanks to that I’m finally realizing that I don’t need to buy every pattern I see and chances are I can just hack one I already own to get a similiar look. I wish I was more adventurous with pattern hacks, but I’m slowly learning and knowing that I can hack something is at least a start. Baby steps, right?!? 🙂
This dress is so gorgeous. Is the bodice a personal draft? (I assume it is) Maybe a future pattern will have a compatible bodice for hacks like this? I’m so excited for the future of Helen’s Closet. Beautiful patterns and these hacks are so great.
One question. If I’m cutting on the fold for the front piece – why am I adding seam allowance? Does that have to do with making sure the waist is still the correct length?
Thank you so much! The bodice is a personal draft, and I do think it would make a lovely pattern one day. You are totally right about the front piece, you actually need to remove the seam allowance, not add it. I have adjusted that diagram now. Thanks for pointing that out!
Thank you for sharing this, love it! You look fantastic in this!
Love this hack, and it gives me 1 more reason to buy the Winslow pattern. This dress is SUPER CUTE on you!
Thank you so much!
Please please please release the bodice pattern! The dress looks amazing!
Hi Leora! Unfortunately, I don’t have any plans to release this bodice pattern right now – but never say never! If I do, I’ll be sure to announce it here and on my social media channels!