The Versatile A-line dress

There are so many things you can do with a basic A-line dress. I'll be showing you how to modify a basic A-line pattern to make different styles of dress in my next few posts. All of these dresses are variations which can easily be made. 

To find out how, read on.
First, let's look at the basic A-line shape:

Variation 1: Gathered bottom frill

The simplest way to add interest (and the all-important 'spin') to a dress is to add a frill. You'll note that 5 of the dresses above all have a gathered frill. This one has about an 8" (20 cm) gathered frill.

To find out how to add a gathered frill to an Aline dress, see this post. ) 

Variation 2: Cut into new shapes

Another easy way to add interest to an A-line dress is to use different fabrics for different parts of the dress. You could use colour blocking, or just split the seams to add interest, with some decoration (lace, or piping for example) between the sections. You can find out a lot more here. 

Variation 3: Separate bodice - a specific case of Variation 2!

Read all about this variation here. 

Variation 4: Layers

I don't have this as an A-line dress to show you yet, it's work in progress. But this is really just an extension of the gathered frill and bodice. You can get some idea of the general idea from these dresses I made with a different top. They could just as easily be made with an A line top.

These all have three gathered layers, and a satin bound hem. But you can have as many layers as you like, the dresses getting fuller, the more layers you add. In future, I probably would make these dresses using an A-line base, because the girls (and their parents) are less keen on bare backs in the sun - requires too much plastering with sun cream.  The A-line style is also easier for them to get on and off by themselves than the tie straps.

Variation 5: Curved or flared bottom frill

I've written a post on how to add a curved frill. You can find it here.

Variation 6: Sleeves

There are various different types of sleeves that can be added, as shown below. See also the black and white dress above. But not all A-line dresses can have sleeves added (at least, not without some alteration to the armholes). Generally, sleeveless dresses have more cut-away armholes, and simply attaching sleeves to a sleeveless dress design could make the dress too tight across the shoulders. My next post will cover sleeves.

Variation 7: Front pleat and pockets

You can find my tutorial for how to alter the basic A-line pattern to achieve this box pleat front here.