Red Dress!

So this post will be fairly short. Mainly because I just posted a longer one. But also because I actually only have one decent photo of the next item. More may be taken at some point, but for now this is it.

So this is one of the few things I have made which is entirely mine, even from pattern. Most things I make have a commercial pattern at the base, which I then adapt and change to suit my purposes, what with not quite being at a high enough level to pattern stuff entirely myself. This one, however, was designed, patterned and made by me. Which means I'm kind of annoyed I don't have better pictures...

The black top and skirt are not part of the dress and so were not made by me. One day I'll make my own and have the entire outfit handmade.

So, the dress itself. It is of a very stretchy lycra-based material. Which was a nightmare to sew, really. I learnt a lot about zigzag stitch through sewing this dress.

It does up under the bust with five pairs of ribbons tied in bows, and at the neck with a single concealed button. Just under the bust is a black silk rose lightly stitched on.

There is matching black lace on the hem of the skirt and on the sleeves.

The sleeves are of an interesting design. I always like interesting sleeves, and came up with this design while sketch-planning the dress. There is also a concealed pocket in the left sleeve for such things as an oyster card, money, ID etc, because this was designed for an evening out and I didn't want the trouble of a bag.

In Summary:

Stretchy fabrics are HORRIBLE even though they look lovely in the end

The fabric was actually quite thick, which makes it drape beautifully but means this is a winter-only dress.

I need to practise zig-zag stitch more

More photos required!

All in all though, I feel very proud of this dress. It was finished in time, was pretty and durable and everything I needed it to be