Cross Your Heart Dress with Bishop Sleeves
Alteration to Cross Your Heart Top #714 & Travel Trio Two #331 Pocket Skirt
We concocted this dress by combining the Cross Your Heart Top #714 with the Pocket Skirt from Travel Trio Two #226. Fabric #914, a rayon/spandex/modal blend is featured here. The electric stripes in this fabric had the perfect retro look to compliment this 60’s inspired dress. The Pocket Skirt was used because it had a center panel just like the Cross Your Heart Top and provided a great guideline to use when extending the top into a dress.
Pattern Adjustment
First, pattern piece #2 (front inset) from the Cross Your Heart Top and pattern piece #9 (center front) from the Pocket Skirt are combined. Fold the pattern piece #2 in half along the center front line. Lay piece #2 over piece #9 lining up the side seams and top. The top of piece #9 will slightly be higher than piece #2. Follow the line for piece #2 when tracing out your new pattern for the center panel of the dress. Fold excess of pattern piece #9 along its center front to match 
the center front of piece #2.
Fold a long enough piece of paper in half, place the center front of the unit along the fold and trace. Cut, unfold and behold the new adjusted center panel of the dress.
Lay new adjusted center panel piece #1 (front) of the Cross Your Heart Top overlapping the seam allowances and pin in place. Next, lay pattern piece #11 (lower side front) of the Pocket Skirt onto piece #1 lining it up with the notches of the new adjusted center front panel and keeping the grain lines of piece #1 and #11 in line with each other. Pin in place.
Unpin the adjusted center panel piece from the new unit you’ve made by attaching pieces #1 and #11. Trace out your new adjusted front piece.
Use a hip curve to smooth out the side seam of the new adjusted front piece.
Lay pattern piece #3 (back) of the Cross Your Heart Top over your new adjusted front piece lining up the underarm seams. The center back will extend a little beyond the center front when you are lining the underarm side seam up. Trace your new back piece using the side seam of the new adjusted front piece made by adjoining pieces #1 and #11.
The sleeve adjustment was made using the slash and spread method. Two vertical lines were drawn originating from the notches at the top of the sleeve ending at the sleeve bottom. Cut up to the notches stopping just before and pivot the sleeves out adding the desired amount of sleeve width towards the bottom. Tape tissue to the new slashed pattern piece. On this dress we added a total of 4 inches (2" to each slash). If you would like a more substantial puff at the bottom of the sleeve, add in 8 inches.
Construction
You will construct this dress using the same instructions from the Cross Your Heart Top. The seams are simply longer.
Create a casing at the end of the sleeve that will accommodate the width of the elastic you are using. I used 3/8 elastic and made my casing ½ inch. Keep in the size of your casing will be when determining the length of your sleeve in the pattern drafting process. Cut the elastic to the desired length considering overlap and wearing comfort.
Hem the bottom and voilá! Don’t forget to send us those pics!!
By Auria, Sample Garment Sewer @ CJ Patterns Studio.
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