In my last post, you got to meet Albus, the most handsome of gentleman. Today, you get to meet Lily Rose, my pretty yet cranky lady dog. Actually, you’ve seen Lily before, but it’s been awhile, so I felt reintroductions were necessary. Have you ever seen two dogs this photogenic? No, no you have not.
So the dress. This dress is the Gertie-est of Gertie dresses. The fabric is from her line at Joann’s, and the pattern is a mashup from her latest book. It’s common knowledge that I have a thing about sateens, and what can I say, her patterns just call to me.
This dress came together in about 6 sleepy after work hours, though I had already made a quick muslin of the bodice. Being entirely honest, I didn’t follow the directions at all. I didn’t consciously decide to do this, just sort of started sewing, only realizing after that I hadn’t read any instructions. For the bodice (the strapless sweetheart), I added boning on all the seams of the lining, cutting them short in the boob area, to allow for cups. I should have added an additional piece according to the instructions, which I’m sure would have added more stability! For the cups, I did something truly white trash…I snipped the band off an old strapless bra and used the cups in the dress. Using the under wire as a guide, I sewed them to the lining also. In addition, I used horsehair braid around the top edge of the bodice, to help it hold it’s shape. To do that, I just stitched the bottom edge of the horsehair to the lining, and then understitched it along the top. I know that sounds like a lot, but as a strapless dress, I really wanted it to be solid.
The skirt was really fairly straightforward. It’s the three-quarter circle skirt, with the only modification I made being the addition of side seam pockets, because that’s what I do. I cut a straight 6 for this entire dress, which is my RTW size, also. The fit was pretty spot on, the only change I would make next time would be to shorten the skirt a bit. I just really don’t like below the knee skirts on me, but somehow, I always forget about this when cutting fabric. Makes me a bit of a dumbass, but at least it’s an easy fix.
The only major issue I had with this dress is entirely my own fault. Sewists, you should never rush an invisible zipper at 10:30pm, when your normal bedtime is 9:00. The zipper on this dress is FAR from invisible, and is for sure going to have to be redone. I always struggle with zippers, and I’m afraid this time was no exception. It really wouldn’t kill me to practice a bit.
Zippers aside, I’m really proud of this dress. That’s a lot of structural work for a six hour dress!!! Beyond that, the fabric is just fabulous. I feel like the dress belongs on the beach somewhere, with a pitcher of overly garnished margaritas. I do think I’ll wear it a lot, you’ll definitely be seeing it again during Me-Made-May. Let this serve as my declaration that ‘I, Ashley of Sewn by Ashley, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May ’16. I endeavour to wear one me-made item each day for the duration of May 2016’.
Fellow sewist, I can’t wait to see what you make and how the challenge inspires you! For my part, I’m hoping it gets to mend or alter some of old makes, and get those suckers worn! You will be able to see daily posts about it on my Instagram, I’ll also be doing a weekly round up here. I hope I don’t bore everyone too much!! I’ll leave you with a few more photos, happy sewing 🙂
