Start by tracing your basic dress with darts and 0 to 2cm wearing ease at circumferences, depending on the fabric you use and the fit you prefer.
Learn more about drafting perfectly made to measure basic blocks and about choosing wearing ease in our basic blocks course/module 1.

Adjust skirt length to ankles, then on back and front:

• widen neckline by 1cm at shoulder and center back, 0,5cm at center front and redraw it
• drop 1 to 2cm from armpit at side seam and redraw armhole as halter neckline (i.e ending at neckline 1 to 3cm from shoulder) – pay attention to bust coverage on front, the line should be quite straight
• flare by 10 to 12cm at hemline in center back and blend to zero at center back waist
• flare by 5 to 10cm at hemline in center front and blend to zero at center front waist
• flare by 10 to 15cm at hemline on side seams and blend to zero at hipline or just above it.

Get back and cut through the new neckline and armhole.

To create gathers at center back waist and neck, we need to draw some slash lines:

• one line starts from dart upper apex and ends at neckline approx in its center
• one slash line is the waist, highlight it from center back to side seam
• draw one more slash line above waist 3 to 5cm from it in center back and 6 to 8cm from it at dart
• draw another slash line at matching distance but below the waist
• draw the last slash line from center back 6 to 10cm below waist to dart bottom apex.

Cut through waistline and all other slash lines and close dart.

Notice how the dart volume is manipulated into the other slash lines. Pivot at waist point on side seam and at dart upper apex if needed to add 1 to 3cm in each slash line in center back and 2 to 4cm at neckline. Mark a notch in center back 2cm above first slash line and another 2cm past the bottom one.

Trace a copy of the new back. Mark gathers at back waist in between notches, while gathers at neckline will be created with a drawstring.
Notch also waist at side seam to have a reference for sewing it.
Grainline is perpendicular to skirt hemline.