Hey loves,

Welcome back! This post is so exciting to me! I love pattern hacking, but the easy kind, that doesn’t involve too much crazy math or pattern drafting. If you are unfamiliar with the term, pattern hacking is when you take a basic commercially or independently made sewing pattern and use it as template to make your own customizations and inspired designs. I like hacking versus drafting patterns because with hacking the hard work is already done, you’re just making your pattern work a little harder. So today I’m showing 4 ways you can hack a basic A- line dress pattern that involve NO pattern drafting! YAAASSSS! LOL

This is the basic dress pattern I use. I’ve had it for years and its allowed me to make tons of garments. A basic A-line dress is essential to your pattern stash because it is a great foundation and you can do so much with it! Small adjustments make a world of difference. It definitely does not have to be this exact pattern, choose any basic A-line dress pattern that you like the fit of. This pattern has a view with darts and one without them.

So getting to it, the first way you can hack a basic dress pattern is to add a ruffle to the very bottom of it. This hack could also work for a skirt too. For the dress below I used view C and just made it a little shorter and added a ruffle. Easy, Peasy. This dress is made out of linen and I said I wanted to start making more laid back pieces so this was one of them. I loove this dress. It is perfect for summer and I dig the yellow and navy blue combo.

The second way you can hack this pattern is to do hidden pockets. As you can see the pattern does come with an option for patch pockets, but patch pockets don’t work all the time. I rarely do patch pockets. This dress is a prime example. I didn’t think patch pockets would look good for this so I needed hidden pockets. A very easy hack, pockets are always a good idea.

The third way is to do a winter version. I made this top like 2 years ago and I’ve worn it lots of ways. You can check that post here if you missed it. All I did to hack the pattern was add a turtleneck, a slit on the side, and I made the sleeves long.

The last way to hack your pattern is to add slits! Be creative with those slits girl! For this hack I just made it a shorter tunic, made the sleeves 3/4 and I added slits on both sides. An Ankara fabric choice could turn your pattern into a dashiki.

*BONUS the 5th way is to play with your hem! Who says a hem has to be straight across? Play with diagonal and uneven hems to switch it up and give it a pop of ohh la la. I’ve worn this top with jeans, as a dress with thigh high boots, and over leggings. It is one of my favorite makes.

So there you have it adding hidden or patch pockets, slits, a ruffle, changing the length, and doing an uneven hem are 5 easyyy beginner level ways you can hack a basic dress pattern to make it your own. Did you all like this post? Let me know in the comments! Hope you’ve been inspired to switch up your next A-Line dress pattern!

Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate you.

Hey Loves,

This post is dedicated to my WCW @KYRAZADA! She is a lifestyle blogger, entrepreneur, mom, and inspiration to me and many other people in the fashion/ blogging world. I have a few Instagram style crushes but @Kyrazada is one of my favorites.

If you follow her on IG you know she was diagnosed with stomach cancer a while ago.. When I found out, I was immediately filled with empathy. I was especially touched because I recently lost my grandma to stomach cancer so I truly understand what her and her family is probably going through right now.

I thought wow I know she’s going through a lot, she’s prob gonna take a break for a few months, stop posting, etc. But, as time went on you didn’t hide, or complain, you spoke your TRUTH and told your story which is BEYOND courageous and inspiring. To see you juggling your doctor appointments, posting pics, sharing how you feel, dressing up, having photo shoots gives me sooo much motivation to just KEEP GOING. You are one brave, amazing, generous, creative spirit. I wanted to do this post to let you know (as your friend said) “No One Fights Alone.”

I’ve had this picture screenshotted in my phone for months and just decided to go with it. So this outfit and this post, is for you boo.! You are so beautiful and even at what may be a difficult time in your life you are STILL SLAYING, and inspiring us. Keep shining. Keep fighting. Keep healing.

*Details on how I made this top are mentioned in the post on IG. The fabric and buttons are from Joanns fabric and I did not use a pattern to create this. I followed the silhouette of a double breasted vest I had, and made changes as I went along.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hi Loves,

If you saw my IG post I know you are here to find out what I’m doing with my hair. And if you REALLY know me then you aren’t really too surprised. Hehe. People with locs please don’t be mad at me and say I betrayed y’all. lol The truth is I love my hair, and I loved my locs, but I decided to comb out my locs of 10 months because I felt I was not properly cultivating them, and was unhappy with a few things. At the time I started my locs last year I was completely frustrated with my hair and I feel like I jumped into the world of locs without properly preparing myself and doing the proper research. There were a few factors that contributed to my comb-out. Here they are…

Size– I wanted my locs to be like a medium thick size. Which they were, however the longer I had them in and the more they started to form, I was realizing they may be a little too big. My hair is super thick and I prob could have had 2-3 locs in every 1 of mines. I felt like I really couldn’t style them in many ways because they were soo thick. Keep in mind the average locd person has about 100-180 locs. I had 52. So I felt very limited in the type of styles I could do without the help of a professional and that was probably my biggest issue.

Starting Method– I started with 2 strand twist as you may know. Which seemed like a great idea in the beginning. This method for me personally was a frizzy twisted mess. I felt like my hair was sooo frizzy and I constantly had strands of hair sticking out of my locs. I think starting with coils over time gives you a smoother more even consistency if that makes sense. My locs were definitely forming but even after 10 months they were not looking or starting to look even and uniformed, like locs. Half of it looked like locs (the part closest to my roots) and the other half of it looked like a raggedy 2 strand twist. Lol It just wasn’t a good look and I was over it.

Overall Maintenance– Again I feel like I jumped into this loc thing without doing the proper research on how to care for them. Like most people, I assumed I didn’t really have to do anything. Just oil my scalp make sure its not dry and I’m good. Lol But that is not the case. I think locs need just as much attention as loose hair. There were several products and tools I bought for my hair over this 10 month period another factor to consider if you plan on caring for your own locs sometimes. Shampoos, oils, leave in conditioners, clips, scarves for bad hair days, and styling products are all things to consider having on hand before you start this journey. Of course I had all these things but the same products for loose natural hair are not always the same as products recommended for locs.

The comb out process was actually not that bad (as long as you have a good show to watch) but I do not plan on going through that again. Lol the next time I loc my hair it will be permanent. Although combing out my locs was extremely tedious, it made me soo grateful I only had 52 locs and they were so thick because that made it a lot easier to comb out. It took me about 5 days to do it because I originally was going to wait until 1 year to decide what I would do but I looked in the mirror one day and I just started combing… After all my locs were out I planned on just putting 2 strand twist back in my hair, but after shampooing and conditioning my hair, I was soo tired. My hands were literally aching from all the combing out and detangling. So I blew it out trimmed my ends (only a tiny bit, they need way more off) and I have been rocking 2 cornrows every since. I plan to leave my hair out for a bit. I do plan to loc it again, I’m not sure when exactly but in the meantime I will most likely do 2 strand twists at some point. Having my hair back just reminds me why I got locs in the first place! lol I just don’t wanna deal..

I feel like that set of locs was kind of like trial and error for me, so this time when I loc my hair again I am fully prepared for the journey!!

So there you have it. I combed out my locs because…. I wasn’t readyyyy. *Kevin Hart voice* lol

And now you know if you are thinking about starting locs; size, starting method, and overall maintenance are 3 major things to consider.

Thanks for stopping by!