Serendipity Dress 2012
Yes, I know I teased you with the fall outfit and never followed through. I do have some of it cut out for sewing, though no photos. :\
But, I have finished my holiday party dress for this year's office party. I have the pleasure of working for a generous company that holds a lovely holiday party for us every year. It's held at a local country club, so I always go all out. I've made dresses with trains and even a full Victorian ensemble. I'll have to take photos of these at some point.
This year, I went for something relatively simple since there were so many other demands on my time. This dress came about through a series of happy accidents, so I've named it the Serendipity Dress. I don't name many of my creations, only sometimes.
I was planning an ensemble last year and ordered an olive green smooth satin for it. This is what came....
Satin, yes...smooth and olive green, no. But, I loved it...so I kept it. :D
I order a lot from fabric.com, and they offer free shipping for orders over a certain dollar amount. I like to pick up yards here and there of fabrics I might not otherwise try to reach that minimum order. One of those fabrics was this lovely embroidered organza. There was exactly one yard left.
Now, together, they are just lovely!
I used two patterns - the skirt and sash from Vogue 8184 (Views DEF) and the bodice from Butterick 5351 (Views AB) - to piece together a dress using both fabrics.
I had to take in the bodice darts as I cut the fabric, but they were rather large and forgiving for this change. To make the most of the scalloped edge, I placed the top of the front bodice and the bottoms of the skirt pieces along this finished edge. I didn't have enough to also do this for the top of the back bodice, but I think it worked well design-wise.
Once the cutting was done, it was time to figure out the construction. Because the organza was a heavier decorator fabric and very sheer, I couldn't just use the green satin as a lining. Instead I sewed the pieces together along the dart lines and then made the darts through all thicknesses. I basted the sides of the bodice and skirt pieces together.
I realized too late that it would be better for the green satin to hang below the organza scalloped edge along the hem, but I just added material to each skirt piece before sewing it together. You can somewhat see the seam, but it is fairly well masked. Besides, I'm hoping the dress wows you enough that you don't start looking for construction issues. :D
My second time putting in an invisible zipper! :D I learned the technique using a regular zipper foot from this youtube video. I need a lot more practice, but it gets the job done! I've changed the slit construction since this photo, too...made it lapped instead of open.
I also added a plain green satin sash and beaded ribbon straps that bring out the champagne threads in the organza. The white gold shoes are by Liz Baker from JCPenney.
It's not the cleanest construction I've ever done, but it worked and I was able to get the dress done in a weekend. In case of disaster, Plan B was to make Vogue 8184 in all lime green satin, and I have enough fabric left over to do just that (someday). Haaaa!
Oh, and seeing April's post reminded me. Here's my machine...a vintage Singer 401A that belonged to my grandma. She gave it to me when she upgraded to a modern machine and said while she didn't regret giving it to me since I used it so much, she never felt the same about her new one.
If it ever kicks the bucket and can't be repaired, I'll be hunting for another just like it. :]