Friday, December 23, 2011

My favourite project of the year, and the last one

We are off on our annual beach holiday following Christmas celebrations, so this is the last sewn thing I will make for 2011. The husband and I are invited to a NYE wedding and I wanted to make something really special to wear that could be worn to a variety of events. I already had the Colette Chantilly pattern sitting around for ever and a day,  and I bought some silk rayon chiffon to use for the shell.
The dress is underlined in black cotton batiste and lined in a purple rayon lining. The lining is left over from the bridesmaid outfits from my wedding 8 years ago. Speaking of my wedding, these shoes are the ones I wore for my wedding and I will probably wear them to this wedding. My only other heels are the shoes I wore to my formal in 1998!

 I plan to write up a review and pop it onto pattern review because I did experience some "glitches" with the pattern. Let's just say I wasn't as impressed with the pattern as other people have been. I felt like there were options for working with sheer fabrics that were not included in the pattern, and that I would have appreciated someone doing all the work sourcing the correct techniques for me.
 Still, I am happy with the final result. The dress is swishy, feminine and oh so lovely. It feels delightful to the touch and brings a smile to my face. It took a huge amount of hours, not that I was counting, and I took the easy option in many instances!
 As it is a lot shorter than I am used to, I used a narrow turned hem to keep as much length as possible.
As I was dealing with a very sheer fabric, I elected to underline all parts of the dress so that none of the seams would show through. The underlining technique I used for the skirt created a faux Hong Kong finish at the seams which is particularly pleasing. I remembered the technique was used by the Slapdash sewist but I first read about the technique in Sandra Betzina's Power Sewing. It is a method I am keep to try again, not just for sheer fabric, as it makes a great lined garment.

 The lining finished were the skirt starts, so all gathers are neatly contained and there is no show through. I like my linings to be fully attached, so this change satisfied that as well.
 Here is the inside shot. It could almost be worn inside out.
 It even looks great on a hanger.
Thanks for looking!

15 comments:

  1. well done for completing such a complex project at such a busy time of year - it looks gorgeous .. and black?... very chic for a wedding.

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  2. Marie, it is totally gorgeous!!! Some things are worth the effort methinks.

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  3. Great dress! I'm sure it will be very useful.

    Kathleen

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  4. I like this dress, very frivolous, but why black? You have such a nice weather there, summer, I'd wear something with color! Is this dress for dinners at restaurants?
    And you look better in something fitted around your waist. please, don't take offence, I didn't mean it!Just my opinion!

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    1. At the time, I couldn't find anything else that would work for me. I wanted something that I could wear again. If I had found a lovely green , red or blue, I would have made it in that.

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  5. The dress is gorgeous and you look beautiful in it! Have a wonderful holiday and Merry Christmas!

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  6. Love the shape of the dress. I wouldn't be comfortable in something so short, but you have the legs to carry it off. It looks lovely for dancing in. Love it!

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  7. That is such a gorgeous dress and you look lovely in it!

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  8. Your dress is so gorgeous. Love the inside finishing as well.

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  9. I love it - totally gorgeous Marie and despite your comments about glitches I'm still tempted to buy the pattern. I'm working on a parfait and cutting out a muslin for a Roobios and adding to the hemline. I'm finding that all the patterns tend to be on the short side and I don't have the legs of a 20 year old LOL Susan

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  10. Marie, that is so beautiful. I love it.

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  11. Gorgeous! and you've finished it so beautifully

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  12. Wow, this is absolutely lovely. You look great in it. I think it would be pretty in any number of fabrics, too.

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  13. What a beautiful dress Marie, you've done a lovely job.

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  14. This dress looks lovely on you Marie, and what a beautiful job you've done on it! I made this pattern to wear on our honeymoon - I'm so glad to hear I wasn't the only one struggling with the instructions. I found it so painful to do that the 2nd one I cut out (a more dressy version) is still in pieces on the shelf! I plan to get to it for next summer...

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