Dresses without waistlines help

Hello my name is Max, i am fairly new to patternmaking but more advanced in sewing. I recently purchased a patternmaking book , and i am to the point where i want to draft a dress without waist line foundation. My main problem with this is that it is in my understanding, that to do this, you must use two measurements . The center front hip depth, and the hip "arc" measurement ( center front hip level to side waist) + 1/2" ease . Doing the simple draft is not difficult at all, however the dificult part comes when my book tells me to  place my pattern on the waistline  line and then close the waist dart to open up the shoulder dart, however given my measurements this does not seem at all possible since the side waist does not meet the waist line properly, can any one else help me with this? I've been stuck on it for months now. Im using Helen's Armstrong Patternmaking for fashion Design (5th ed).