Pink Lace Elegance

7/24/06

I don't have very long to work on this one before Costume College, so this may be a rather abreviated dress diary. My original plan was to make a very grand beaded dress for the gala. Unfortunately, I've had very little time or inclination to sew lately, which means I'm incredibly behind on all my projects, and the beaded project never even got started. I still want an elegant gown for the gala and got inspired while watching The Greatest Game. I had planned for my beaded gown to be jewel toned, but I noticed most of the women in the movie wearing very light, flowey pastels. Then, I remembered a beautiful embroidered net I bought in L.A. a while back that would go perfectly with a pink crepe my mom was using for one of her CC dresses.

The result is that I anticipate having a wonderful, elegant gown for the gala with only a fraction of the work I would have needed to pull off the beaded gown. And yes, that makes me very happy right now.

Because I'm in a bit of a time crunch at this point, I'm using a Simplicity pattern as the starting point. Of course, knowing me, you can expect that I'll modify it heavily, and, in fact, I already have. The pattern is based on some of the dresses in Titanic and are modified for modern sewing (interpret: zippers and elastic used liberally and indiscriminately). Of course, I'd never put a zipper in a dress (anymore) and will substitute hooks-and-eyes or buttons, depending on what I have time for. I also decided to go with a false empire waist, rather than a real one. It seems to have been more common in the time period for the gown to sit at the natural waist, or slightly above; a wide sash then created the illusion of a high waist.

So, I put together a muslin mock up of the back and front bodice, lengthing both by four inches. I didn't put the darts in since I knew those would be different with the extra length and since I'd be wearing a corset. During the fitting, I marked new lines for the darts, making sure that the bust and waist fit perfectly. I then picked apart my mock up and used it as the pattern to cut out the pink fabric I'm using for the underdress.

Now I just need to cut out the overskirt and kimono sleeves out of the lace and put it all together.

8/3/06

See, I told you there wouldn't be many entries. Here I am at costume college with a nearly finished dress. It actually went to gether quite easily once I got everything cut out. I bag lined the bodice in order to finish the neck and back edges, then used satin ribbon to face the amscyes. The lace kimono sleeves just got tacked on at the shoulder and at the center back neck edge, then basted to the waist. For most of the lace layer, I used French seams. For the center back of the skirt and the neck and back edge of the sleeves, I used a folded over piece of satin ribbon to finish the edges.

All I have left to do now is the hem, hooks-and-eyes, and my sash.

On a side note, can I really submit a pattern review when I didn't follow any of the directions and just used the pieces as a starting point?