Songbird Hack: Make it a Dress

Ever since we released the Songbird tank top I’ve thought, but what if it was a dress. And now, I have made that thought, dream, hope, a reality. By adding the skirt from the Stasia dress. Sounds simple, right? It is! 

You will need both the Songbird Tank Top and Stasia Dress sewings pattern to do this hack. 

Before you Begin 

There’s few things to consider before you cut out your own Songbird-Stasia Dress. 

I used the cropped view of the Songbird tank top, and used this hack (or anti-hack really, since it is fewer steps) for a plain front tank and shortened it 1.5” so that the skirt sits just at the bottom of my ribs. Depending on your preference you may want to shorten it more or less. If you are unsure of the amount you want you can baste on the skirt to double check first. I sewed mine in a striped knit and did not want to have to match the pattern, nor did I want the point that is part of the Stasia dress design. So I used the back skirt piece for both front and back and cut it on the fold.

Note: This adds an extra 1” because of the lack of seam allowance. You can either remove 1/2” from the center front of the pattern piece OR sew the side seams with a 1/2” seam allowance and trim it down as you serge/finish your seam. 

It is a more efficient use of fabric to seam the skirt pieces, so if you don’t have a print to match, that would be my recommendation. 

Let’s Talk about Negative Ease

I think we are all fairly used to positive ease, i.e how much bigger than our body we would like a garment to be. But when working with knits you often are sewing with negative ease, making a garment smaller than your body. Negative ease is both confusing and a little intimidating? How do you figure out how much smaller something needs to be to fit correctly? What if it is too tight? It is not a good feeling! Fortunately, most patterns give a recommendation to get you started. A tank top needs a different amount of negative ease than leggings, for example. 

For this hack, we need to look at the recommended ease for two patterns, the Songbird Tank Top and the Stasia Dress. I started by choosing my normal size in the Songbird, a 4. The Stasia Dress has a little more negative ease than I personally prefer, so I usually make it in a 6. But the waist measurement for the 6 is still more negative ease than the waist measurement for the size 4 Songbird, which has just about no positive or negative ease at the waist. This works for a cropped tank, but if we are attaching a skirt we need them to match. 

I used the Stasia bodice piece to grade my Songbird tank top piece down at the waist, tapering the side seam from just under the bust to meet the size 6 line at the bottom edge. Repeat this for the back tank piece as well. Be sure to true the pieces and check they match up. 

If you want more ease in the waist of your skirt (I usually do!) you can split the difference and go up another size or so in the Stasia and grade down a little less. But don’t overdo it! A knit skirt adds weight to a bodice and needs the negative ease in order to stay up/not droopy. You can always grade out after the waist to add more ease through the lower belly and hips or if you want a very full skirt. 

Pattern Pieces

• Front Songbird Crop Top, shortened 1.5”
• Back Songbird Crop Top, shortened 1.5’
• Songbird shelf bra front
• Songbird shelf bra back
• Songbird arm bands (2x)
• Songbird neck bands (2x)
• Stasia Skirt front
• Stasia Skirt back

Fabric and Notions

• 1” elastic the length of your rib cage 
• 2 bra rings
• ¼” clear elastic (if you make the gather front Songbird)
• 3-5 yards of 60” knit fabric, depending on your skirt and choice of skirt length. Please see the patterns for extract yardage by size. 
• Thread 
• Jersey or stretch needle for your sewing machine

How to combine the patterns 

1. Follow the instructions for the Songbird Tank top, stopping before deciding on your strap length (step 4L) We will leave this until after attaching the skirt. 

2. Assemble your skirt following the instructions in the Stasia Dress. I didn’t add pockets, but that is an option in the pattern. 

3. Turn the tank top inside out

4. Slip the skirt inside it, right sides together, raw waist edges aligned

5. Pin or clip in place

6. Sew, using ½” seam allowance

7. Try on your dress and determine your preferred strap length. Loop them through the rings and sew to secure, following the Songbird instructions (step 4L.) 

8. Hem following the Stasia instructions and enjoy!

Want to sew more knits? Check out our tips for getting a professional finish on knits. For another fun summer hack try making a Bedrock t-shirt dress!