top of page
Red matte jersey dress, 2009
Red matte jersey dress, top is Kwik Sew 3549, skirt is Vogue 9974, View B
Spring time dance dress
We are going to an afternoon tea dance tomorrow and I didn't have a thing to wear. Luckily, I had this knit fabric hanging around the sewing room waiting to be made into something. It's a mixture of different patterns that I've used before, with a few modifications thrown in just for fun. If the skirts twirls up, my blue slip will be peaking out underneath. I'm ready to rumba!
Close up
Close up showing the neckline and dolman sleeves that were too low and had to be fit higher under the arms for more movement. The pearls make it proper for any occasion.
Jersey knit dress
Another piece of fabric found at the thrift store, a polyester jersey knit with some spandex, I think. I dug out an old pattern for this one, Simplicity 7818 from 1992 for the top and Vogue 9974 for the skirt. I wanted to break up the large print and chose a skirt with 4 panels in front and back. The top has short raglan sleeves. The Simplicity pattern has a circle skirt attached at the hip, not a good look for pear shapes, and it uses almost 4 yards of fabric while I had about 2.5 yards to work with.
Jersey knit dress
Another knit dress made from Simplicity 7818, just a simple raglan sleeve slim dress with no waist seam. I added a center back seam to have it curve into my back, and pin-fitted it to my shape before stitching the side seams, as I do for most everything. This fabric was bought at my local fabric store, about 1.5 yards, before it closed over a year ago.
Vintage Style Dress
Navy blue crepe dress, based on Vogue 8550 (from 1992) that I thought had some vintage 40's style with the slightly extended shoulders, shoulder pads and scalloped neckline. The pattern actually has a straight skirt, but I wanted a flared skirt. I accomplished this by simply laying another skirt pattern (Vogue 9974 (from 1996) over this one at the waistline. I plan to wear this to my niece's wedding.
Vintage style dress
Close up of neckline. That is a dry cleaning bag on the dress form. The fabric kept sticking to the dress form cover and wouldn't drape properly. The dry cleaning bag acted as a slip in between.
Back zipper
This dress needed a 24 inch zipper which I didn't have. Apparently, invisible zippers only come up to 22 inches long. I solved this by placing the end of the zipper at the correct marking, and stitched up the opening above the top stop. The neck opening is large enough to go over my head. If it wasn't, I would have needed to sew a few hooks and eyes above the zipper which may have come undone and looked sloppy.
Classic Blue Dress
Fitted, classic dress made from Vogue 2218. The pattern is actually 2 pieces, top and skirt, but I wanted a one piece dress, so just matched the pattern pieces at the waistline. The fabric is a heavy blue crepe with some stretch to it that I have had for so long, I don't remember when, where, or why I bought it, but there were 4 yards, and I just managed to squeeze 2 dresses out of it. This one I plan to wear to my Canadian Citizenship ceremony in a few days where the dress code is business attire.
Knit Fit and Flare Dress
Knit dress, below mid-calf, is a blend of 3 different patterns. The top is Kwik Sew 3032 for the front, and Kwik Sew 3549 for the back. The skirt is Vogue 9974, an 8-gored skirt that fits smoothly at the hips then flares out to 125 inches at the hem. The skirt was lengthened from 25 to 31 inches. The knit fabric does not wrinkle and makes for a great dress to throw in a suitcase. Black satin ballroom dance shoes, style 1636, from DanceShoesStore.com.
Sun Dress, June 2010
Heavy cotton brocade mid-calf dress, with fitted bodice (Vogue 8494) and flared skirt (Vogue 9668). I lined only the bodice with cotton broadcloth, as the skirt is full and heavy, and did not require a lining.
Blue dance dress, Sept. 2009
Blue matte jersey dress, top is Vogue 8413, skirt Vogue 9668. I self-lined the bodice and added a tie belt.
Teal dress, Oct. 2009
Matte jersey dress, top is Kwik Sew 3066, skirt is Vogue 8207. Skirt is gored and flares out after the hip
Dresses
bottom of page