Adding Tie Front Bows to the Austin Dress

I’ve been wanting to try a tie front variation for the Austin Dress for quite some time now, since seeing tops and dresses with cute little bows popping up everywhere, but I wasn’t really sure I could pull something like that off. I’m not typically a big bow person, but I felt like with the fit and shoulder line on the Austin, and the right fabric, I could do a tie front in a way that felt true to my style.

I had this Fableism Queen of Hearts gingham in Blueberry in my stash and it felt like the perfect fabric to give this Austin pattern hack a try. I have to say, I absolutely love how it turned out! I’m so glad I took a leap of faith on a style that I wasn’t sure would be right for me, or rather feel right on me.

I decided to make the lower two ties decorative because personally I feel more comfortable with the bulk of my bodice secured in place. This is just a personal preference, though I think it’s so cute when you can catch a little glimpse of skin on the open bodices, so this one is totally up to you. 

For the top tie I created a long neckline binding piece that transitioned into the ties, this way the neckline and ties were finished and attached in one step and it reduced bulk at the neckline. I then switched the armhole finishing from a bias facing to bias binding to match the neckline. You don’t need to do that but it’s a nice touch to have them match the neckline and ties.

For this Austin Dress variation I omitted the side seam buttons so as not to compete with the front ties. You can find the tutorial to remove the button bands here: Removing the Austin Dress Side Seam Button Bands. If you’d also like to remove your button bands for this version, please make the pattern alterations in steps 1-3 first, then continue with the instructions below.

Austin Dress Tie Front Pattern Alterations

Step 1 Remove the ¼” seam allowance from the neckline and both armholes on Piece 1: Bodice Front and Piece 2: Bodice Back.

Step 2 Add 14 ½” to each end of Piece 8: Neckline Binding, then mark a notch 15 ½” in from each edge and use this to mark the length of the new neckline binding piece. The new piece should be 1 ½” wide.

Step 3 Cut two bias strips for the length of the original Piece 9: Armhole Binding + ½” by 1 ½” wide for the armhole binding.

Step 4 Cut two bias strips 1 ½” by 30” for the two lower ties.

Austin Dress Faux Button Band Sewing Instructions

Step 1 Sew to Step 5 in the original instruction booklet, then sew the bodice side seams together.

Step 2 Edgestitch along both sides of the center front seam line, then topstitch ¼” away from the edgestitching. Repeat for the center back seam.

Step 3 Press your binding into quarters lengthwise by folding the binding in half, then bringing the outer raw edges to meet the center fold.

Step 4 Align the notches on the binding with the center front edges of the neckline, right sides of the binding and bodice facing each other, and pin. Pin the binding in place around the rest of the neckline.

Step 5 Sew around the neckline anchoring the binding to the neckline edge.

Step 6 Fold the binding up and around to the wrong side of the bodice along the pre-pressed folds. Pin the binding in place, then edgestitch around just the neckline edge through both layers of binding in place.

Step 7 We now need to create the neat ends of our binding strips. Open the binding flat at the center fold and fold the outer two sides of the binding together against the direction of the pressed center fold. Then take one of the inside raw edges and fold that quarter around the outer fold, over to meet the other raw edge. Then sew across the short end of the bias strip. Unfold the bias strip to its original pressed shape. This will force the seam at the end inside of the binding. Align the free, folded edges together and edgestitch along them to close the binding and create the tie.

Step 8 Repeat Step 7 for the two remaining ties.

Step 9 Mark the tie placement, the center tie will sit at the bottom of the keyhole opening. Measure the distance between the top and center ties, then place the bottom tie the same distance below the center tie. Then find the center of the ties and sew them onto the bodice. I used a zigzag stitch for extra security and sewed mine onto the bodice on an angle which allowed my bows to sit straighter. Whether or not you do this may depend on the way you tie a bow so I recommend pinning the center in place and tying it before you sew the tie down permanently.

That’s it, you can continue sewing the rest of your dress as instructed either in the pattern instructions or in the tutorial for removing your Austin Dress button bands.

Even though there are a few more steps here than the previous two Austin pattern hacks I did, I think it's really worth the little bit of extra work. I've been getting a ton of wear out of this as our Chicago summer refuses to die, but I also think it would be cute with a cardigan this fall. 

You can pick up the Austin Dress pattern in the shop and head over to the sew-along guide for step-by-step video tutorials on the original construction. Please note that this modification isn't covered in the sew-along, only the pattern as originally written.

Let me know if you have any questions in the comments below, and if you make your own version make sure to tag me on Sewciable or Instagram if you post @grainlinestudio! I always love seeing what people do with my patterns!