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Today I’m sharing a Gable Top by Jennifer Lauren Handmade, together with a hack of it into a dress.

I have previously posted about the Gable Top, as well as the Gable Dress extension, way back in the very early days of this blog in 2018 (if you click on the link please excuse my terrible hair and photos!).

And, as a sign of how much bodies, style and sewing preferences can change, this new Gable Top is quite different from the first one I made.

Five years later, instead of sewing a tight tight tight size 10, as I did in 2018, this current version is based on size 20 of the pattern.

The camel/ochre striped version of the Gable Top comes from the need for a very straightforward, comfortable and loose-fitting everyday striped top. In full disclosure, I have a similar RTW top that I no longer fit into comfortably, so the idea was to just make a version of the same basic garment but which doesn’t make me feel bad about myself!

The Gable Top itself is a super quick and easy sew and I find that it looks really effective. If you want more details about the sewing experience, you may find my first blog post about this pattern useful (link above).

I really like the Gable Top. I find the slash neckline really elegant. As recommended in the instructions, I always wait until the top is complete to try on and adjust the slash neckline – getting it to fold and sit exactly as I like it.

I actually found the size 20 to be too tight around my hips (although suitably relaxed everywhere else), so I had to shorten it a little to cut it to a point where it actually fit around my body comfortably. It was too long anyway, so this was no big deal, but something you might want to keep in mind if your thighs are wider than your hip.

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Hacking the Gable Top as a dress

The original take on the Gable Top, is actually my hacking of it into an oversized dress. The Gable Top does have a dress expansion available, but it’s a dress with a waistband and an added gathered or pleated skirt.

What I have been in search of (seemingly forever) is the perfect slip-on knit no-waistband dress. I’m sure there is a technical name for this type of garment but it escapes me.

You know what I mean, being able to dress like you’re wearing a giant t-shirt but still look nice.

And, I’m not going to lie, before deciding to sew this hack on the Gable Top, I actually tried to buy a similar garment RTW for a while. And each one I tried on looked horrendous on my body. Too big at the bust, constricting at the upper arm and barely capable of going over my thighs.

What I really had in mind was a garment that followed the curves of my body with a few inches of ease at all points. But with maybe a bit more of an A-line shape at the bottom for balance. And the perfect amount of arm coverage.

And, let’s face it, given the specificities of our bodies and personal preferences, we’re not really going to be able to achieve all that RTW.

So I decided to hack the Gable Top to try to achieve my striped t-shirt dress vision.

I lengthened the Gable top by 60cm for the dress version. Then looking at the top version I had just made, together with my body measurements, I made estimates as to how wide I wanted the hacked version to be at the hips and thighs and used this to draw a basic shape for the Gable Dress.

I then refined the shape a little bit once I had basted it together.

I’ve also used a split hem and cuffs to create a little details.

So, the verdict on this hack of the Gable Top?

Well, it is definitely infinitely better than the RTW ones I tried on.

I find this to be a totally practical and wearable garment.

However, looking at the back view, I still haven’t quite got it all right yet. There is excess fabric at the lower back and doesn’t have quite enough room at the butt.

So, to achieve a better fit, I think I would need diamond shaped back darts (like are included in the Kielo Dress) and possibly just a bit more room at the butt. Or maybe both.

So, I’m getting there.

Why are the simplest garments sometimes the hardest ones to get right?