Sewing for Me: Lace Dress

 

 Working toward my goal of learning to sew more for me, I attempted another adult pattern:  Vogue V8766. Initially, I made the sleeveless, scoop-neck version of the pattern and ended up with a dress that was pretty, but totally didn’t fit. The entire upper bodice and shoulders ended up too roomy (if you know what I mean) and too wide as well. I did get the waist sizing right and realized that the circle skirt portion was a great match for my pear-shaped frame. I was feeling pretty frustrated after the first attempt at the dress, but I didn’t give up.

I tried again using the strapless version pattern pieces. I adjusted the bodice by folding in the pattern pieces at an angle so as to maintain the waist measurements but drastically pull in the whole top of the dress. I also learned how to size and adjust the side boning so that the dress would come together nicely. I still need to hem the second dress, which I made out of a plain cotton, and it will work nicely in the spring/summer. I made my final dress with a lace and lining from the bridal fabrics section. The lace is a heavy cotton and was pretty pricey, even with a coupon, but I think the end result reflects a nicer, classier dress than the first dress that I made with a cheaper, polyester lace.

 I used a beige lining so that the dress wouldn’t look so bridal-y. Love how the colors turned out. I left the lace unhemmed (I might go in and finish the hem later, but it works for now) and did a rolled hem on the lining. And while the circle skirt was a great style, I ended up cutting it significantly shorter than the pattern because 1) I’m short. 🙂  and 2) the whole dress looked a lot lighter and I looked leaner when the skirt hit just below the knees, but above the widest portion of my calves. I also shortened the waistline, which elongated my figure, too. I wore this dress to the Clue-theme party at Alt Summit. Since we were going for a bit extravagant, I paired it with my feathered fascinator and a vintage fur stole that I found on etsy. I think the dress turned out great. The fit was perfect and the finishing passes for professional rather than homemade-looking, in my opinion. So, I’m going to go ahead and score this a major win in the sewing for me department. I actually felt like I learned a few things about fit and curves and style that will help me going forward with my next project for myself. I did not learn anything about modeling for self-timer shots in this process – just sayin’.