Tag Archives: Dress

Dress with, er, lace

13/11/2010 4:52 am \ 19 Comments \

OK, so my lace addiction is so well documented by now, no need to make any lame excuses… I saw a dress kind of similar to this in a boutique window and I wanted to make something like… as well, the Dolce and Gabbana Spring 2011 is a big inspiration and I’ve bookmarked a few looks for my inspiration folder.  Didn’t want to go crazy over the top with lace however as this is more than well represented in my wardrobe already, hehe…
I had bought the fabric a few months back and thought about it for a while, as you do… when I got the urge to embark on it one Sunday lunchtime I set myself a little challenge.  I decided to see if I could get a whole dress finished by the end of the day.  And I’m happy to say that, apart from the hem, I did.  Including the Hong Kong finishing to the seams, and hand-stitching the bodice facing on the inside and to the zip tape; and hand-stitching the lace on the midriff.  I had only bought about 70-75cm of this Italian lace (rough measure, because they do not cut motifs in half, obviously) which was just perfectly the exact right length to go around the midriff with the tiniest of leftovers, and very fortunately the lace motifs matched up perfectly so that two were perfectly and evenly spaced on the front, and three were perfectly and evenly spaced on the back.  This serendipity of perfect spacing is a matter of pure luck, not clever planning; the patron saint of dressmakers was truly smiling upon me that afternoon! (and, who is the patron saint of dressmakers, btw?)

(at left, the front; at right, the back)

As usual the hem took a few weeks of further contemplation…  I finished it this morning, so I’ll be able to wear it out to a dinner with friends tonight.  Because I decided I wanted the dress longish, like the Dolce and Gabbana collection, I made a wide bias hemming strip.  Hemming in this way gives you the high quality of a deep hem without any loss of length; for this I used for this the same black cotton as the Hong Kong binding. 

The fabric; the bodice is slippery-dippery ivory silk crepe and faced in the same fabric; the skirt is a divine-to-work-with nubbly linen/cotton mix, with woven pinstripes in charcoal and ivory.  The skirt is unlined as I want it to be cool in summer, and anyhow I felt it unnecessary to line this one.  Just a dressmaker’s instinct.
The pattern; I’ve used this New Look 6699 pattern quite a lot, and made just a few adjustments to get the look and silhouette I wanted for this dress; demonstrated in the pictures below.  Firstly, the zip has been inserted in the left side seam rather than the centre back.  This allowed me to eliminate the whole centre back seam and the back pieces are cut as one piece each (see below left, these pieces are all cut on the fold).  Not having a centre back seam enables the details of the beautifully worked lace to stand out and shine, uninterrupted by a distracting cut-and-join right in the middle.

I wanted for the skirt to be slightly long and A-line rather than a pencil style, so tapered the sides out just a little (pictured above left).  The bodice in this pattern has a sun-dress style of shoulder strap at the back, which incidentally I’ve never used and did NOT want for this dress either; way too casual a look.  So the back bodice piece and shoulder strap piece were pinned together and the back bodice cut as one piece, (pictured above right). 

Details:
Dress; based on New Look 6699, ivory silk and charcoal pinstriped linen
Shoes; Sandler (I’ve had these for years)

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Downgrading a “good” dress

01/11/2010 9:22 am \ 10 Comments \

Does anyone else downgrade their dresses?  Move the snazzies out of category “with heels and make-up only” and over to “OK to walk the dog in”?
Last year this dress was a “good” dress.  I wore it to lots of formal lunches, parties and end-of-year functions, as well as a wedding (and this dress for the reception dinner and dance afterwards)  And this year I’ve made a few new party numbers to see me out for the seasonal social whirl… but I still love this dress and want to give it an outing once in a while… well, how could I not love it; it’s lace!
Luckily it’s quite subdued in colour and style and not overly sparkly or glamourous, so I’ve delegated it duty as a nice-ish everyday dress, just to wear out and about.  In its early life as a party dress, I went through the ritual of the “gently swooshing by hand in a bucket” cleaning routine.  Then started tossing it in a lingerie bag in with other delicates… then eventually, throwing caution to the winds, sans lingerie bag and just in with the general light clothes.  The first time I dared to do this I worried how the gathered silk chiffon midriff and sash would hold up…  but it survived that test and actually stood up pretty good.  So I reckon it can thankfully shed the lace-and-silk-diva label and has earned its place in amongst the daily players.
Oh, and the heels aren’t just for show; although I did wear thongs (flipflops) for walking the dog, here I was on my way to morning tea with the Monday gals… just thought I’d point that out after my post on “honest blogging” the other day…!

Details:
Dress; some design adaptions of New Look 6699, beige lace, silk chiffon midriff and sash, lined with swiss voile
Sandals; Marco Santini, from Marie Claire shoes
Sunnies; RayBans

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An essential petticoat

28/10/2010 3:47 am \ 20 Comments \


The first time I wore this new cocktail dress was at a standing cocktail function; and all was hunky dory.  Felt a million bucks and the dress was perfect.  The second time I wore it was to a sit-down lunch and fashion parade at a fancy restaurant here, and a vitally important design flaw in this dress immediately made itself apparent.  I won’t embarrass anyone with any pictures, but the above picture with my new petticoat worn under the dress should give you some idea of the problem I faced… luckily I was out just with my own husband who could see the humour in the situation, and also luckily there was the tablecloth as well as a huge white serviette draped over my lap the whole time I was seated…!
This cocktail dress is really lovely and I am super happy with it, but I should have foreseen this.  I actually couldn’t believe it myself that I had simply not sat down in the dress up until that point and realised…!  The pattern is really a coat-dress, and has closure only at the waistband, and one button a little further down at about hip height on the inside flap.  Naturally there was going to be gape-age…!
So I bought some silk satin and made a petticoat, using an old standby sundress pattern Burda 8071.  I do already have a selection of petticoats, but since this one would undoubtedly slip into view when wearing this dress, I wanted it to match and blend in perfectly, and obviously be of a perfect length. For this reason I spent some time getting the hem length exactly right.  The petticoat sits just 2cm shorter than the dress.  The shoulder straps are of satin ribbon, and are adjustable.  Though unfortunately the only lingerie fittings I could find are these from Spotlight, which are just not very good… if I could find another range somewhere I would definitely swap them over.  Anyone know of a good supplier of lingerie fittings?
Viewing the petticoat modelled here by Bessie, you can see how much bigger than me she is.  The petticoat actually fits me perfectly, but I can barely squeeze it over Bessie’s hips, and as for doing up the zip, well no way Jose.  Even here it is stretched as tight as.  Having her is wonderful and certainly makes my sewing life much easier, but fine-tuning the fit of a garment is always something I have to do on myself, obviously!

Details:
Dress; Vogue 1155, bronze-y gold silk taffeta
Petticoat; Burda 8071, beige silk satin
Shoes; Misano, from Labels boutique

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Deep Purple

21/10/2010 8:15 am \ 12 Comments \

Busy busy busy…
Have you ever had one of those days in which you race madly from one thing to the next and are receiving phone calls and text messages like on no other day (usually when one is halfway through some transaction or other important thing)
Aaargh!
But I still tried to look smart because of a few social things I had happening where I knew everybody else would be looking nice.  I’m dying to get back to my sewing machine… it’s been a few days since I did any sewing and am now suffering withdrawals… plus the need to get through a small mountain of new fabric from Melbourne (blush!)
This dress has been such a goodie.  To think I felt unsure when I first made it…  The colour was a departure.  I think the simple unfussy sheath style is a look that suits me.  It’s great to just know one’s best looks when you are scrabbling about desperately through the wardrobe.   Having a kind of style diary like this blog has helped me with this a lot. 
Have you ever made or bought something about which you were a leetle doubtful at first and that later became a mainstay in your wardrobe?

Details:
Dress; Burda 8511, with modifications for fitting and lining, purple raw silk
Cardigan; Saba, op shop
Scarf; alta linea, gift
Shoes; Sandler, op shop 
Bag; Gucci

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Red halter-neck sundress; 6 different ways

16/10/2010 4:31 am \ 21 Comments \

Ha!
The last time I wore this for my blog and I was writing a description, I was about to segue into rhapsodies about how useful a garment it was when it occurred to me I hadn’t done a 6-way post in a while and this would be a good candidate…
I actually love doing these; shopping in my own closet is fun when I have the time, and it certainly brings to light some garments and combinations that hadn’t occurred to me before and breathes a new lease of life into some “lurkers” that haven’t been worn in a while.
When I first made this dress it was intended to be a light beach dress to cover up the bathers, and it spent the first few months of its life just tossed randomly into my beach bag… then one evening I put some white linen pants on underneath (those particular ones were old ones, also permanently tossed in my beach bag for a coverup on colder days) and I realised it could be quite a chic combination, if said linen pants hadn’t been so creased from being stuffed casually in the bottom of a bag, hehe…  The dress migrated to a hanger in my wardrobe and has been worn for occasions of various formality since, so it is quite useful and demonstrates why everybody should have a little sundress with a pretty hemline and of a cheerful colour in their wardrobe…
For the bodice part with the halter neck I used McCalls 4453, and the skirt part I drafted myself, inspired by the hemline on some dress I had seen somewhere, in a perfume commercial? ( I think?) …  It is made from sparkly red/pink polyester chiffon, and lined with pale pink lining fabric.  I altered the bodice to close at the left side seam with an invisible zip.
For its original purpose; at left, it is worn as a very casual beach dress; then at right, with white linen pants on underneath it becomes quite chic enough for a semi-formal summer evening function.  I wore it like this to the theatre in Melbourne, and when we met friends at a swish-o riverside restaurant in the evening also…

On slightly fresher days; at left, it is funky and fun with a fluffy cardigan and lace-up boots for casual wear; then at right worn as a tunic with jeans on underneath and high heels, it looks not-too-casual for a barbecue with friends

Even in more wintry temperatures, it can work as a top over a skirt with tights, flat boots, cardigan and scarf for everyday wear (boy, I wish I’d thought of this combination during last winter, because I love this outfit now I’ve thought of it!).  And even though it’s a summery dress, with a top, tights and high heeled boots all in a solid one-colour worn underneath, at right, it’s warm enough for cooler days and looks a bit edgy and kinda mod.  I could start wearing it from early spring like this, and stretch it out to cooler autumn days also, out to town or to meet friends or the husband.

Which one do you like the best?
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One year in cyber-space; and a Give-Away

12/10/2010 4:34 am \ 32 Comments \

Today exactly one year ago I started blogging here about my sewing, and as it turned out, some other stuff too! 🙂
To mark the occasion, I thought it might be fun to wear again today the same dress I did on my very first blog post, a quiet celebration for it being the First Dress Here, so to speak.  Although of course, at the time it was only about a year old… far from the oldest thing in my wardrobe.  I think my photo taking has improved a lot, what do you think?
(photo at right from my blog, 12 October 2009)

And to thank YOU, lovely readers, I decided to have a GIVE-AWAY!
I did put some thought into this: since my blog is supposed to be about sewing, knitting and looking your best; I tried to have a little of each represented… so I have selected a sewing pattern, a knitting book and a little arm bracelet to give to a loyal reader.
The sewing pattern is New Look 6317, it is multi-sized from 10-22, and is still pristine and uncut in its envelope.  I think this is referred to as “factory folded” in ebay speak, but since I don’t go there hardly ever I could be wrong…  It is both easy and versatile, and includes a simple straight skirt, a jumper or sweater, and a coat pattern; all very simple and uncluttered in cut and line so a pattern ripe for customising in however way you wish.

(Using this pattern, New Look 6317, you could easily re-create either of these designer looks for yourself; at left from Michael Kors Fall 2010, at right from Yves St Laurent pre Fall 2010)
The knitting book is “Wild Tea Cosies” by Loani Prior, an Australian knitting designer; you might remember some of my projects from this book I’ve posted about here in the past.  It has a fabulous variety of fun designs, all using only a few balls of wool, and all quick projects that will take a fraction of the time of a full-sized knitted garment.  Coffee drinkers; you could just as easily adapt these designs to a coffee pot as for a tea pot.  This is a book that a beginner (who knows basic stitches) can cut their teeth on, and work their way up to some of the more complex designs over time; and I guarantee you won’t get bored with your project as it will be finished in a flash, and you can delight your friends with some crazy and unique gifts.
The beaded bracelet is just a silly little thing; a variety of black beaded strands, tied up with a black gauze bow.  It is elasticated so can slip over your hand to sit snugly and chicly on your wrist.  Cool, no?
Unlike other (kinda mean) giveaways I’ve seen in blog-land, this is open to Everyone in the World!  And also, obviously, this is one I’m funding myself and I’m not receiving any endorsements or sponsorship by doing this.

You can enter into my give away by doing the following:

1. Becoming a follower of my blog (please leave a comment here to let me know if you do, so I know you are there)
2. If you are already a follower, just by leaving a comment on this post,
3. IF you have a blog, by linking to my blog OR by mentioning this give-away on your own blog.

This give-away will be open for a week, so next Tuesday, 19th October I will randomly pick one from the comments I receive here and announce a winner…
and thankyou for reading!

Details from top:
Dress; New Look 6699, with some of my own adaptions, coffee and black lace over ivory silk
Sandals; Joanne Mercer for Micam, from Hobbs shoes
Necklace; my own design

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the Prodigal dress

08/10/2010 2:49 am \ 4 Comments \

So after assessing my wardrobe for Self-Stitched September and deciding that some of my old things could happily be rejected because I hadn’t worn them in months; I spied (with my little eye) this dress in the potential toss-outs, and kinda fell in love again.  The colours are exactly what I am dreaming about for this spring/summer season; and funnily enough the new fabrics I’ve just bought in Tessuti Melbourne are all variations on this kind of smudgy sludgy khaki/chocolate/grey/taupe kind of a colour…
So, like the prodigal dress, it has been welcomed back into the fold with open arms and joyful coos of delighted discovery and is back into circulation.  It’s nice for warmish days when I’m aiming for edgily smart.  
When I first made this dress I mentally dubbed it the Futuristic Nun, and I still feel a cross between space-age, thanks to the shiny but still quite rugged nature of the taupe stuff; and ecclesiastical, thanks to the severe cut of the tunic contrasting with the snowy white virtue of the attached petticoat.
The whole dress is quite shapeless, slips over my head easily, and is only given form by the (also attached) thin white velvet ribbon that wraps around my waist several times and ties in a loose monastic knot.

Details:
Dress; partly my own design, based on Burda 8511, taupe stuff(?), white cotton, velvet ribbon
Sandals; Franco Burrone, from Marie Claire shoes

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Curiouser and curiouser…

30/09/2010 8:50 am \ 18 Comments \

Hi, the last day of Self-Stitched September; and I’m coming to you live from sunny Melbourne!  Haha.  That’s an in-joke amongst Australians, as Melbourne is … er, not very sunny.  The weather here is notoriously fickle.  The sky today is white white white…  But dearth-of-sunshine notwithstanding, I still adore Melbourne.  This is the shopping capital of Australia, and I’ve already laid down the plastic in two fabric stores and a wool store, and also visited what must be the most kitsch-ily fabulous (but kinda pricey) second-hand shop in the whole of Australia, the RetroStar Vintage Clothing Company, and therein bought a pre-loved maroon velveteen jacket and a beaten-up (in a good way) pair of shiny black men’s brogues.. hola!!  It’s been a very successful day.

And as if the haul wasn’t enough, I spent the morning in the Royal Botanic Gardens and was totally spoilt for choice when it came to stunning locations.  And the soft grey light that this city is famous for (thanks to the cloud cover) makes for dreamy photography.  Win!
Today I feel a bit Alice-in-Wonderland-ish, wandering through the beautiful other-worldly treescape of the gardens in this floral floaty dress with black tights and booties (for warmth, I did say Melbourne is dismal, today is 18C or 66F, freezing by current Perth standards)  It reminds me of the illustrations in my old copy of the book, by Arthur Rackham, and which shaped my childhood imagination of the dreamworld that Alice visited.  My mother once said this dress was one of her favourites (thankyou Mum)  It is based loosely upon Vogue 7748, a basic wrap dress pattern, but with a two layered frills around the neckline, a deep frill around the lower edge, back waist ties and sleeve ties added.
Details:
Dress; partly my own design, based upon Vogue 7748, printed polyester chiffon, with petticoat (not seen) my own design, pink jersey knit, seen first here
Tights; Kolotex
Booties; Django and Juliette, from Zomp shoes
Illustration below by Arthur Rackham, from Alice In Wonderland, published 1907

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