![Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Li7lwj9tvaY/XL7wrggF7-I/AAAAAAAABJY/rI4MShzTReQT0TbVLHxuNxDcP5eMwSBnQCLcBGAs/s1600/Louises_Nora_dress_hack_5.jpg)
![Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-odMSRo92ozA/XL7w_CwEvXI/AAAAAAAABJk/qO2cjp6jlM8MvhU61hU5cb_Qfzpv9_ZpgCLcBGAs/s1600/Louises_Nora_dress_hack_2.jpg)
If you're anything like me, making a pattern once is never enough. I am not satisfied until I have tried the pattern in a number of fabrics and attempted a hack. Can you relate?
It's Louise here, the Sales and Communications Manager at Tilly and the Buttons, sharing a Nora dress hack I made recently with added cuffs (fabric bought from Stoff and Stil). I am a serial hacker who just loves working with perfectly constructed simple designs so that I can have some fun putting my own spin on it. I'm not a pattern cutter, so find using my favourite patterns like the Freya pattern from Stretch! and the Stevie tunic make experimenting easy.
![Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DjU9YaqRiRs/XL77pK0lhvI/AAAAAAAABKU/XA-l4E-l1GgA6_bWXWojDpzE-12iO0M0wCLcBGAs/s1600/Louises_Nora_dress_hack_3.jpg)
When Nora was being developed, I had loads of fun looking for design inspo and dreaming up all the ways this wonderful pattern could be made. As a result I have a wardrobe full of Nora tops (see just a few in this team blog post). I have tried it in sweater knits, viscose jersey, interlock, sweat shirting... but found myself wanting a dress version of this wonderful pattern.
![Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-sOfT4TRxyog/XL7yzKCQDUI/AAAAAAAABJw/mYiIJSwVfJ45XX1Tha392GmglxXDUP68gCLcBGAs/s1600/Louises_Nora_dress_hack_4.jpg)
![Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yM72B28EpvQ/XL7y8kDnHEI/AAAAAAAABJ0/2IH7ifx1X8weK_x-j_NdaIspuHCcilqjwCLcBGAs/s1600/Louises_Nora_dress_hack_7.jpg)
So I got my thinking cap on and considered all the details I really love about Nora. It turned out I wanted to keep pretty much all of the design features! So my Nora dress hack involves mostly adding to the existing pattern, so it is really easy to do.
I started off lengthening the front and back bodices to become a dress, taking my measurement from my shoulders down to the point I wanted my dress to sit. If you have already made Nora, you can measure from the point your top ends to where you want it to finish up. I added about 50cm (19 7/8 in) to the length.
![Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jEXxdA5Pqsg/XL72TjSp0GI/AAAAAAAABKE/atbkIoIlM5INcE1gXQgnjUIjSnQBNOxDwCLcBGAs/s1600/Louises_Nora_dress_hack.jpg)
I wanted the dress to have a gently flare. To determine how much, I held a tape measure in a ring shape around my hips, then used that measurement to work out how much I needed to add to the hem of my dress. For me it was 120 cm (47 2/8 inches) in total, so 30 cm (11 7/8 inches) for the back and front pieces (as your pattern is cut on the fold). Don't forget to add your 1.5cm (5/8 in) seam allowance.
I then joined the wider hem up to the side seam notch on the original pattern, which gave the dress a gentle flare.
![Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7nFWiXkWUF4/XL7wgTPsE8I/AAAAAAAABJc/XK5Cj6kovMYsFxxBh0GsNw3lmZHg-SfsQCEwYBhgL/s1600/Louises_Nora_dress_hack_8.jpg)
I wanted to have the option to create a waist rather than have it completely boxy, so I added some belt loops at my natural waist. As these were pretty narrow loops on a relatively thick fabric, I pressed the raw edges into the centre, then folded the folds to the centre and edgestitched them closed.
![Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nt6wXyXoZ90/XL77hNwsGFI/AAAAAAAABKQ/Thbu_h_WtN0OCim7H77NLrMAj2nxsP0GACLcBGAs/s1600/Louises_Nora_dress_hack_10.jpg)
I bought my fabric and cuffs at the same time (I'm very proud of the match!) when I visited Stoff and Stil in Copenhagen last year, ready for my Nora hack. To insert the cuffs, I shortened the sleeve pattern piece and stretched the cuffs to fit the wide sleeve hem as I stitched. To get the width of my cuffing right, I just tried in on my wrist making sure it was snug enough that if it stretched a little with wear it would still fit nicely.
![Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KRHqVE9HX7Q/XL786ww4TwI/AAAAAAAABKk/Qzy1kDz-710wQMQMkCYrGBwZ-vV0cE6zwCLcBGAs/s1600/Louises_Nora_dress_hack_9.jpg)
![Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons Louise's Nora Dress with Cuffs Hack - Tilly and the Buttons](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-omaPZQFMBnQ/XL79DTvjnlI/AAAAAAAABKo/6JX_QWZM_7c8gK2qIWBZgYBKlVzeFZKIwCLcBGAs/s1600/Louises_Nora_dress_hack_6.jpg)
For the belt, I drafted a long rectangle, sewed that up and turned it out. I finished it with topstitching along both edges so it was nice and clean. Et voila!
I am already planning a summery Nora dress in stripes with ruffle sleeves and a ruffle hem... told you I can't stop making Noras :)
PS. If you liked this, you might also wanna check out Tilly's Nora Cardigan Hack, Nutty About Nora - Team Makes and my post on Inspiration and Fabrics for Making Nora.