Who’s ready for another Ogden Cami hack? The version I’m showing you today is a peplum top that I made a month ago, but forgot to take pictures of! Anyway, its an easy peasy modification that can take you from a light summer top to a dress! I like to pair mine with my favorite Jackie cardigan.

So how can you transform your Ogden Cami to a peplum top or dress? 

Get out your front and back bodice pattern pieces. On the front piece, from the bottom center, measure up 6″. Mark a line straight across to the side seam. This line eliminates the curve of the seam (though you could just as easily keep a curve there if you wanted one). Fold up your pattern on that line, or cut. (I folded mine, and I regret that its hardly visible in the photo, just follow the instructions, and you’ll be right where you need to be.)

Now do the same thing with the back pattern piece, but measure up 5″ from the bottom center. (the front of the cami is longer, I believe, to account for the curve of the bust)

From your new front and back bodice pieces, cut your main fabrics and your lining.

Now cut your peplum. I used a fabric with 54″ width, so I just went ahead and used the whole width available to me for the peplum. You can make yours as full as you’d like. Cut 8″ x width of fabric, then cut that in half (although you really don’t *have* to cut it in half if you don’t mind having only one side seam).

Assemble the pattern according to the instructions. When you are done attaching the lining to the bodice at the top, set your bodice aside. Sew the side seams of your peplum (or skirt) using French seams. If you aren’t familiar with this, simply place your fabrics wrong sides together and sew a 1/4″ seam. Then press that open or to the side, and fold your fabric along the seam line so it is right sides together. Sew a 3/8″ seam and press toward the back. Now go ahead and hem the peplum because its easier to do it before it’s gathered. You can use this tutorial for super simple hemming.

Now you’ll sew some stitches for gathering the peplum. Sew two lines of basting stitches using the longest stitch length on your machine at 3/8″ and 5/8″ from the raw edge. Do this in two sections: Sew your two lines on the front of the peplum, and separately on the back. This just makes it easier to have even gathers. (Note: the next step will instruct you to pin the peplum to both the exterior and lining layers, but if you want a hand finish and hidden seam, only attach the peplum to the exterior.) Pin your bodice (both exterior and lining) and peplum right sides together in four places: place a pin at each side seam, and at the center front and center back. On the wrong side of the peplum, which should be facing you, gently pull on both tails of your gathering stitches and evenly distibute the gathers around the peplum. Once the peplum is the same circumference as the bodice and the gathers are pretty even, pin in place every inch or so, then stitch your peplum in place using a 1/2″ seam allowance. Remove your gathering stitches by gently pulling on the tails you used to gather. The front stitches should just fall out once you have removed the ones on the wrong side. 

Finish the seam allowance with your serger or overlock stitch on your sewing machine. If you didn’t stitch the peplum to the lining, you can turn the lining to the wrong side by 1/2″ and blindstitch it in place for a clean, flawless finish. 

You’re all done! Style your peplum with some jeans and a favorite cardigan, or enjoy these last hot days of summer with your favorite pair of chino shorts and a baseball cap. This gorgeous Liberty print is Betsy S, and you can find it (and many other colors!) at both Jones & Vandermeer and DuckaDilly!

-Meredith