This Laurence Top wrap front dress hack idea has been living in my brain for a while, and I was excited to finally try it out! I’m really happy with how both of my dresses turned out and excited to share how I made them. In this tutorial, I share how I changed the neckline of the Laurence Top into a wrap front bodice, finish with bias binding, and add a gathered skirt.
The process for this hack is very similar to my Horizon Day wrap front dress, but the wrap front shape is kind of already started for you in the v-neck shape of the Laurence Top. I have a review for the Laurence Top by Vivian Shao Chen if you’re curious to give that a read and see if the pattern will work for you!
Below is a Table of Contents if you want to skip around to certain steps:
The Pattern
The pattern I’m using and referencing throughout this tutorial is the Laurence Top by Vivian Shao Chen, one of my favorite top patterns, and one that I’ve hacked so many times. (photos below). I’m working with View A, the v-neck view, but it could probably work with View B as well, the process will just be slightly different than what I show here.
I’ve hacked the Laurence Top into a dress, made a couple versions with a button placket, and have used the pattern to make a square neck tank dress and top (see photos below of my other Laurence Top hacks).
If you don’t have the Laurence Top pattern to work from, this method could work with another similar top pattern. I’ve written a tutorial for How to Add a Gathered Skirt to a Bodice if you want to try this with a top pattern that you already own and love.
For reference, I always make a size 2 in the Laurence Top and my bust is 34″.
This page contains some affiliate links to products and I may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links (at no extra cost to you).
Some Things You’ll Need
- Paper to trace on
- Ruler – I’m using my trusty 12″ x 24″ quilting ruler throughout this tutorial
- Cutting mat – optional, but useful when cutting out bias tape
- Rotary blade – also optional, but useful for cutting out bias tape or around paper pattern pieces
- Measuring tape
- Coordinating all purpose thread
- Fabric scissors
- Fabric – 2.5 yards to 4 yards depending on the width of fabric, size made, how long you want the skirt, added skirt tiers, etc.
- Laurence Top pattern (or another similar top pattern will work!)
Fabric
Fabric choice can make a difference in how low the wrap front sits. The neckline of my linen version, made in a midweight linen, sits slightly lower than the version I made in a lightweight cotton blockprint. If I had made a longer skirt on the linen version, the added weight would probably pull the neckline down more, but the longer length of my floaty cotton version hardly adds any weight at all.
For my linen version I used a beautiful high twisted medium weight linen, in the color natural (light) from The Linen Lab (use code ‘bethanylynne_makes’ for 10% your order). This linen worked out really well for this dress, and the medium weight makes it opaque, so I feel fine wearing it without a lining. I had about 2 yards of this linen and used all of it to make a dress this length.
I made my second version in a gorgeous block print cotton from Blackbird Fabrics, and it’s so flowy and comfortable to wear. I had 2.5 meters (2.7 yards) of this fabric and using pretty much all of it. The lightweight cotton makes this dress is perfect for hot weather, but the longer length will be perfect in the Fall layered with jackets and sweaters.
Let’s get started!
Step 1: Draw Out New Neckline
I’m using a bodice pattern piece that I already had from my Laurence Top dress hacks. You’ll want to figure out how short you want the bodice, and where you want the waistline to hit on your body. I shortened the bodice at the shorten/lengthen line provided on the pattern piece.
The Laurence Top has an a-line shape, so I straightened the side seams starting from the bottom of the dart on the front piece, and from the bottom of the armhole on the back piece. This takes a little bit of volume out of the bodice and it keeps the waist seam from pulling down at the sides.
Start by tracing the entire Laurence Top front bodice pattern piece onto some paper. Leave some room off to the side where you will be drawing out the new wrap front neckline. Make sure to mark the center front (the fold line) because we will be using that as a guide for the neckline depth and where the wrap fronts will overlap.
Decide The Front Overlap
Next, you’ll want to figure out how much you want the front to overlap. I put on one of my Laurence Top dresses and measured, starting from the center front, to about where I wanted the wrap to stop. Keep in mind you’ll loose some of that length when you sew the bodice to the skirt, depending on the seam allowance you use (I used 1/2″ seam allowance).
The neckline depth can be adjusted by how far out you stop the wrap, or by how low you draw the new neckline. My goal was to try and get the point where the wrap overlapped to be the same height as the original Laurence Top. I did make a couple of quick toiles (test garments) before cutting into my final fabric, and tried a couple of different measurements. First I tried stopping the wrap 4″ from the center front, but this made the neckline a little too low for me. I ended up stopping the wrap 6″ from the center front and that worked out well for me.
Draw New Neckline
Once you’ve figured out how far out to bring the wrap front, mark that line. I measured out 6″ from the center front line and made a mark. Then draw a straight line from the top of the neckline, close to the shoulder, down to that mark. This line will help act as a guide.
Next we’re going to curve that line a bit, to give the neckline some shape. I started at the top, near the shoulder, and gradually curved the line to meet at the point of the ‘v’, and then merged it with the line that meets the marked point. You could just freehand this line, but I feel like the straight line made with the ruler acted as a good guideline to follow.
Once you’re happy with the new curved line, erase the straight line.
Now you have a finished wrap front bodice piece! I went back and erased the original Laurence Top neckline, but you can leave it there for reference if you want. Label the pattern piece, making sure to transfer all markings, and cut around the new wrap front bodice piece.
Note: For my second dress (the block print version) I went back and adjusted the neckline curve a bit more, to copy more of the original Laurence Top curve coming from the shoulder (see photos below).
Step 2: Cut Out Pattern Pieces
The other pattern pieces you’ll need for this dress, are the back bodice piece, two skirt panels, and pockets, if you want them. I followed the process here as I did for my other Laurence Top dress hacks.
Back Bodice Piece
I shortened the back piece of the Laurence Top to match the same length at the front piece, and straightened out the side seams. I also overlaid the front pattern piece onto the back piece and to trace the v-neck shape.
Skirt Pieces
To figure out how wide to make the skirt panels, a good rule of thumb is to make it 1.5 or 2 times the total width of the bodice. The bottom width of my bodice piece is just about 21″ (with the wraps overlapping and matched at the center front notch) and if you multiply 21″ by 1.5, you get 31.5″. That will be the width of one of the skirt panels – cut out two panels at the same width and length, and you have your skirt pieces.
What I usually do for my Laurence Top dress hacks, is to use the Orchards Dress (also by Vivian Shao Chen) View A skirt pattern piece, to make cutting out the pieces easier (and then I don’t always have to do the math 🙂 ). The Orchards Dress skirt pattern piece (size 2) measures 32.5″ x 25″ which makes it just about 1.5x the width of the bodice of my wrap front bodice.
Pocket Pieces
If you’re adding pockets, cut out 2 pairs of pocket pieces (so 4 total). I’m using the Orchards Dress pocket pieces, but really any pocket pattern piece from another dress pattern should work.
Soften Studio has a free pocket pattern piece if you need one!
Bias Tape
You’ll also need bias tape for the armholes and neckline. If you’re following along with the Laurence Top, the pattern includes the bias tape pattern pieces, but you’ll need a little bit longer piece for the neckline for the wrap front hack.
I always make my own bias tape and my tutorial How to Make Bias Binding Tape walks through those steps.
Step 3: Cut Out Pattern Pieces From Fabric
Once you have all your pattern pieces, it’s time to cut them out from your fabric! When cutting out the wrap front pattern pieces, make sure to cut a mirrored pair – same with the pocket pieces. Don’t forget to mark the center front notch where the front wrap pieces will overlap. Cut out the back bodice piece on the fold, and then cut out two skirt panels at your desired measurements.
I used the leftover fabric to cut out 1″ wide bias tape for the neckline and armholes.
Step 4: Time To Sew!
Now it’s time to sew together the dress! I’m using the same seam allowance as in the Laurence Top pattern, 1/2″, and following the instructions for sewing the bust darts, shoulders, side seams, and bias binding.
Sew Darts, Shoulders & Side Seams
Sew the darts, shoulders, and side seams and finish the seams. I staystitched around the armholes and neckline to help prevent those areas from stretching out.
Sew Bias Binding
Sewing bias tape to the neckline is the same process as in the Laurence Top instructions. Take a length of bias tape, enough to go around the whole neckline, and start pinning it at the bottom of the bodice. Sew with 1/4″ seam allowance, and press the seam and bias tape away from the neckline. Do the same for the armholes.
Understitch along the neckline, close to the seam. This helps to keep the bias tape from rolling to the front of the bodice.
Fold the bias binding to the wrong side, fold it in half to hide the raw edge, and edgestitch along the folded edge. Finish up the armholes in the same way.
Finishing The Bodice
Trim off the excess bias tape at the bottom edge of the bodice. Overlap the wrap fronts, line up the center front notches, and pin along the edge. Sew a basting stitch at 1/4″ seam allowance to hold the wrap fronts in place.
And your wrap front bodice is done!
Sew Pockets
Next up is sewing the pockets, if you’re putting some into your dress. I’m using the pocket pieces from the Orchards Dress, but I sewed the pockets slightly different than what’s written in the instructions. I show how step-by-step in my tutorial How To Sew Inseam Pockets- Two Ways and I used Method 2 – it’s been my go-to method lately.
Sew The Skirt To The Bodice
Now it’s time to add the skirt! I sewed two lines of basting stitches along the top of the skirt panels, stopping and starting at each side side, one at 1/4″ and the other at 5/8″. This way when I sew the skirt to the bodice, the stitch line goes right in between those lines, and helps to achieve neater gathers.
For more detailed steps, head over to my tutorial How To Sew A Gathered Skirt To A Bodice.
Tip: Try on the dress before finishing the seam to check that you like how it’s fitting.
Remove the visible basting stitches, finish the seam, and press the seam allowance up towards the bodice. I like to flatten my gathers a bit to make them look less poofy.
Hem The Dress
The last step is hemming the dress. For my shorter linen version, I folded 1/2″ then 2″. For my longer cotton block print version, I wanted to keep some length, so I just did a smaller 3/8″ then 3/8″ hem.
Give everything a final press and your Laurence Top wrap front dress is done!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and would love to hear if you make one yourself!
Thanks for reading 🙂
