Yes, it's that time of year again when scissors are drawn and the thrill of the deadline takes over. Yep, Christmas party time again - what to wear. This year decided to give myself plenty of time to make the dress.
Pattern:
Vogue 8755
Fabric: 100% linen from Tessuti Fabrics (no longer available)
Alterations: Oh, just a few
Help: I am so grateful to Mirta, who within only 2 lessons
has taught me so much.
Help Explanation: I enlisted the help of a sewing teacher to help me alter the pattern - have never done this before and I wanted to learn the technique properly, rather than experimenting and getting it wrong. Fabric no longer available and party just around the corner - this was no time for experimenting.
I thought this pattern would look good, however the front pleat turned out to be too wide which gapped quite a bit - not to my liking. I could have eliminated it totally but decided to make it a style feature, so I sewed the pleat down, so it looks like an inverted 'v' - mirror imaging the top 'v' on the bodice.
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| LHS pinned to sew down |
This linen fabric is quite soft and light, so a lining was definitely in order. I was just going to line it, but Mirta showed me how to do interlining - I'd never heard of this before, but I am now totally won over by this technique. It is basically sewing your lining with your main fabric, as one. One advantage for me was that, because I was inserting piping of a different colour, the seam allowance would hide the piping and the white lining would only show through - - clever!!!
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| Interlining - cotton voile |
First alteration - the sleeves. Wanted an elegant cap sleeve - the pattern's sleeve didn't thrill me.
The other advantage of doing your project with someone else is that they can fit you properly. The bust dart needed to come down a bit, so was shown how to do this too - locked into the memory bank.
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| Extending sleeve and lowering bust dart |
Second alteration - didn't like the neckline - I know I'm a bit picky. It's too high and round, so decided to make it a 'v' which follows the design style. Had already cut the piece out so decided to do this myself. First try was not low enough, but the second was perfect.
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| LHS 'v' RHS - original neckline |
Third alteration was, eliminating fabric from the front - when I tried the dress on, there was too much fabric, so cut off excess from the side to make it a true 'A' line dress. If you look at the picture, you wouldn't think there would be so much bulk. This is a good pattern to use as a 'block' and alter to your heart's content.
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| Large pleat and therefore too much bulk |
Now to add the colour. Jess, (DD and my style consultant) said that it would look cool to have a hint of colour just peeping out from the fabric. She chose the citrus/yellow (colour which is in at the minute) - found the perfect colour in linen and decided to pipe the colour around the cap sleeves and front bodice seams.
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| Piping ready to go |
Thought I'd see if the piping would suit the dress or if I was over doing things a bit - "less is more" so had to be careful. Yes, I think I like this - it's staying.
Shoes from Danielles Shoes & Accessories in North Balwyn Village and OPI nail polish - hmm is that colour a bit on the daring side?????
Okay - let's be daring!!!!!
