This was a somewhat last minute project, mostly because I procrastinated in buying the vibrant taffeta for the skirt. We were planning to attend a Christmas part mid-December, and I had nothing formal to wear that I could also nurse in.
But this was one of those dresses that turn out quite a bit different than the original idea. I wanted to do a combination of the bodice of this pattern with a simple flared skirt with as few seams as possible. My idea was to do the bodice in black and outline the darts with black beads - something simple but with some handwork to make it special.
Well, the black crepe back satin I purchased online was not nearly the quality of what I had used for my bridesmaids dresses a while ago - it was thin and limp and gauzy. I knew it wouldn't work well as a stand-alone fabric, but I had no time to get anything else. So after looking through my stash and finding I had no other formal fabric to pair with the steel blue taffeta I had bought for the skirt, I decided to alter my original idea and simply do a 2 layer bodice to give it more body. The gold and black lace worked perfectly to hide the cheap satin, and I was even able to use the decorative edge for the sleeves. However, the busy lace really hides the radiating darts, especially in the photos, which is a bummer. It's a fun bodice - all the shaping is made around the neck.
This is one of the few times I've overlined a bodice and it worked out just fine, after I had hand basted the pieces together so I could sew them as one - they were super slippery and hand basting kept the layers together until after they were sewn.
When it came to the skirt, I decided at the last minute to use the skirt from this pattern, thinking that the darts would mirror the ones in the bodice. So far, so good. But I forgot to take into account that I've gone up a dress size since the pregnancy, and with all the darts in place, the skirt was way too small! So I only ended up with only 2 darts on each side of the front.
The funny thing is that I had sewn the front darts before I realized I wouldn't fit in it with all the darts in place, and I didn't want to take them all out since taffeta really shows stitch lines. I studied my problem for a while before realizing that the front and back gores were exactly the same shape, so I switched the front to the back and used the back gores for the front, only doing 2 of the 4 darts pictured. Saved!
The sash was just a piece of the lace cut crosswise so I had a decorative edge on the ends. I pinned it and added a small cluster of vintage millinery flowers.
The dress opens with a front zipper, so I wore a brooch to cover the zipper tab.
There was plenty of poofy skirt since the taffeta stands out on its own, and I wore it over a crinoline.
The whole thing was done in just a few days since I had waited until the last minute to make it. There were plenty of shortcuts taken, I'm afraid. The only hand work was tacking down the facing and stitching the hem.
I paired it with some repro heels from Miss L Fire, and a 1950s hat I decorated with millinery flowers to match my sash.
But though it turned out different than my mind's picture and isn't quite as special-handwork-decorated as I had wanted, I am fairly satisfied. It's holiday appropriate with the black, teal, and gold sparkle, but I can wear it for other occasions as well. And probably the quickest-sewn formal dress anywhere around!
The shape of the dress is very flattering. It is a lovely look for special occasions.
Posted by: lynne Johnson | 01/01/2018 at 10:42 PM