What I Wore: On An Empty Stage
What I Wore: On An Empty Stage
WhatIWore:
When:
June 6, 2011
What:
Shades: Fred Flare
Necklace: Jess LC
Dress and Belt: Self Made
Watch: c/o Timex
Shoes: Jessica Simpson via TJMaxx
Polish (on toes): OPI Mermaid Tears
Where:
Studio
Why:
Once upon a time (last February) I checked out a newly opened Antique store in Bloomington and found some AWESOME fabric on a bolt for $20. Probably 10 yards on it. Didn’t have a wallet with me (good for not buying things, right?) and when I went back to buy it… GONE. Well, lucky Jessica because not too long ago my wonderful husband gave me a Fabric.com gift certificate and I found this similar fabric! Yay!
The inspiration for this dress is a little long winded, but it’s Tuesday, so why not. When the Country Strong movie came out, a lot of magazines did little inspiration pages on it. Lucky magazine did a spread that had this full skirted, halter topped, 50s hoe-down looking number from Anthropologie and I was in love! Then, I borrowed a similar dress from Kendi and I just had this force from inside telling me
Ya know, I love it, but I do feel a little like Liesl Von Trapp… which is an AWESOME thing because I LOVE THE SOUND OF MUSIC!
Now, if you don’t mind, I have some singing to do.
For notes on this sewing project, click through after the jump!
For notes on this sewing project, click through after the jump!
I completed this dress in three sessions - about an hour and a half for matching and cutting the fabric, and then another two 5-6 hour sessions for construction and finishing. I would consider this pattern to be average difficulty.
Notes:
Bound Buttonholes - this took a considerable amount of time. I haven’t made these since my tailoring course in college, so I used scrap fabric to practice three button holes before stitching them on the actual dress. In hindsight, I wish I would have done contrasting taupe fabric (like the buttons) instead of self fabric. Next time!
Key Pointers:
Practice on scrap fabric
Set your machine to a very small stitch (1)
Use very small scissors to cut opening
Hemming a Full Skirt - I’m starting to like hemming full skirts a lot more, now that I’ve started using the following techniques:
Key Pointers:
Let the bias hang out overnight (or longer)
Using a dress form, baste in your ideal hem length by hand, 1/4” from hem fold
Cut and finish excess fabric to a uniform length
Machine baste with a long stitch 1/4” away from hem edge
Ease up excess fabric + press flat
Use a hand hem stitch to finish
If you’ve made this pattern and would like to contribute any other pointers, please leave them in the comments below!
