Not quite sure when the idea popped into my head… maybe standing in Kohls and being frustrated that I couldn’t find anything cute/faltering to wear… or in Macys when the price tag on an OK looking dress was $75… or just going from store to store in general, the the crowds , and the expensive clothes made out of low quality fabric (that’d probably fall about after a few washings). I’ve also been surfing around Blog land, and my friend Jeffery’s site 52 Projects lead me to Threadbanger… a site full of people making their own clothes to match their style (see post below). I already own all the tools necessary, so I thought, hey why not make my own dress for Jenn’s Bridal Shower! I’m a relatively intelligent person, it shouldn’t be THAT hard…
And this is what I created!
The last time I made a garment was during a sewing class I took in 2000! EEEk. So I’m not sure if this was the correct way to go about fitting a dress, but its the best thing I could think to do… For this dress I started with a basic pattern to get an idea of the pieces I would need…then basted it with about a billion pins and tried it on inside out… then I did the “pinch and pin” technique down all the panels to get it to fit me. (this took a few tries to get all the curves right and make sure the side seams actually went down my sides). My dad actually helped me figure out what stitches to use on my machine, since I havent used stretchy fabric in almost a decade 😛 I changed up the top too so it doesnt resemble the original pattern much, but you’d never know. The straps tie in the back. I sewed the hem by hand with a blind stitch.
This thing to a freakn’ long time… trying to pin the back panel WHILE wearing it is not so easy, neither is taking it on and off when it is held together but a million pointy things AHHHH. And hand stitching the hem took over an hour (though I was watching the Food Network at the same time…) ….But thats part of what made wearing it feel so great 🙂 Such a feeling of accomplishment, and now I have a cute dress just in time for Spring 😀
Leave a Reply