Friday 7 June 2013

So, sew, so......

... what have I been up to??? Well, with work, not much. But I did squeeze in the chance to make an evening dress to wear to my son's Formal Ball a few weekends back.  Held at the brand spanking new Royal Convention Centre in Brisbane, the event was spectacular. Never having made a dress of this calibre before I spent many a day thinking, do I? Don't I?  Well I made up my mind quick enough after visiting a few more 'upmarket-stores' in Brisbane, the popping beads, and faded fabric soon made up my mind that I was to make this dress myself.

In my little stash of goodness I had both Vogue 1182 and Butterick 5542, lines I have admired, and wished to whip up. But with the scares on my back the Butterick number wasn't to be. So what was I to do, but merge the two together - so this is the Vogue top on the Butterick bottom. Morphing at its best. 
Not sure why Butterick is blurry!!!
The fabric is from Sckaf's, Indooropilly. A beautiful midnight navy satin sateen with cotton lining (we are talking Brisbane here!) And may I take the time to thank the staff at Sckaf's! I have never met more obliging women. They tried many trim combinations with different colour fabrics, purely so that I would be happy. Little did they know after being in the dress stores of designers where I was up for many $$$, I was keen for just about anything. 
Like most reviews online, I narrowed down the collar on the Vogue, just like the picture. Really, the picture on the cover and the pattern piece are not the same.  To 'enhance' the collar section, and to give a bit of age appropriate bling (well, we are all girls at heart) I sewed a little silver bead in the middle of each rose on the collar, and this was just enough 'lift' for the evening.

And from this I matched a pair of delicate silver earrings, necklace and evening bag to carry the look off.
All in all a great night, a great dress and great memories. That is what sewing is all about. So another addition to Sew My Own Wardrobe for a year - this time last year I would have picked up a dress from the shops, and been half happy with it. Instead, thanks to Vita and Natalea from Join the Challenge, I am 110% happy with my dress - huge hugs, ladies!
Now whilst I made a full length dress for this formal occasion, wearing it again will be a rarity in my world. And when I do need another long formal dress I won't want to wear the same one twice! After all, I am a sewer. So the big plan is to chop the bottom off, whizz the sides back in, and add a vent up the back to create a cocktail length dress that I will wear a  little more often. And I have one spare little feature flower that I was thinking of attaching to the top of the back vent.

Hiding away inside my little sewing cave are a few more 1/2 started, or 1/2 finished garments that I must complete. Will post them up soon...J






66 comments:

  1. Well that dress would certainly have had many $$$$ on the price tag! You look stunning, beautiful colour anf beautiful dress.

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    1. Thanks for that, as choosing an age appropriate colour was hard. But you just can't go wrong with good old midnight blue...

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  2. This really is lovely. I'm quite partial to this colour at the moment, too.

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    1. Yes, so am I. And it changed hues from the first afternoon photos to the last of the evening photos, so was an interesting colour choice...

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  3. Job well done Judith. Your dress is stunning.

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    1. Thanks, Pam! It has been years since I have 'dolled' the old body up to this degree...

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  4. Beautiful great idea for the refashioning

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    1. Refashion, or back of the closet are the only two options with this one! And there are enough hiding in the back of the closest as it is...

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  5. WOW what a stunning dress! You look gorgeous in it and good to know you've got plans so you can get more wear out of it. The fabric and trim look divine.

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    1. I was really taken by the trim - jazzed the neckline up just enough to drag the eye away from the face wrinkles....

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  6. Congratulations on a beautiful dress, expertly made Judith! Midnight blue is a favourite of mine too, and looks wonderful on you. And I love your plans for a revamp - very clever. The ladies at Sckaf's are great, aren't they - they have helped me on many occasions too.

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    1. Sckaf's is my new 'go-to' shop - very knowledgeable ladies indeed...

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  7. That is absolutely amazing Judith! You'dpay a fortune for something like that in stores... beautiful dress and love how you'll modify it for future use.

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    1. The $$$ savings is a huge motivation to sew for yourself, Jacinta. Think of all the fabric I can now buy with my saved money...

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  8. I was wondering what happened to you! Glad you are ok. Your dress looks amazing!!

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    1. Thanks for wondering about me, Kyle! But being a teacher work tends to come first during term time, but school holidays I kick up a sewing storm...

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  9. You have done a great job on the dress...with a most elegant result! The silver beads are the perfect touch.

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    1. Thanks, Katherine! Before I sewed the beads on the little roses didn't pop at all. It was surprising what a difference a single bead in each rose made...

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  10. As a few have said, the midnight blue is divine - the dress is so elegant - I love the merged patterns - ruching in the right place and a flowing skirt to skim over other places. The collar is lovely - it certainly wouldn't want to be bigger. The dress is far too nice to languish with other long ago banished to the back of the closet - so your plans to refashion are a good idea.

    You looked lovely, so did your family - I hope you all enjoyed the night. :)

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    1. Oh, you say all the right things, SarahLiz! Yes, the night was just brilliant - a lot of preplanning for one night, but well worth it...

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  11. So lovely! You look so elegant. What a wonderful occasion. It looks like it was the perfect evening.

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  12. lovely dress. It looks very special and a lovely colourfor you. Good idea about altering it, It would be a great shame if it did not get worn again.

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  13. Don't you all look fabulous. Your dress is beautiful and great idea to cut it off to make it more usable. I also would make something else for another ball.
    Have been missing your posts... holidays for you soon!

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    1. The holidays are soooo close I can smell them! Long weekend this weekend, 9 days of school, then 2 lovely weeks of sewing pleasure.....

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  14. Hi Judith! You have done a beautiful dress, it suits you perfectly. I love the details on the collar. Great job!

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    1. Thanks Hana! The original collar pattern didn't suit me at all - I think it would only ever suit a clown, it is just so wide, but scaled down it is perfect...

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  15. A stunning dress for a very special occasion. Great idea to turn it into a cocktail dress and make another formal when you have the chance to wear one again.

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    1. Yes, I would love to have another go at making a formal dress - my learning curved really 'bent' on this one...

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  16. You look absolutely fabulous. Congratulations on making such a gorgeous evening gown. Can I come and take classes with you?

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    1. ...only if you like a little drink while sewing! This dress did stretch my patience in a few spots along the way...

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  17. I agree with the others. You looked very pretty in your new dress. You did a great job on the dress. I really like the roses with the beading on the collar.

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    1. And strangely enough, I am not usually a roses type of person, but loved it on the dress...

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  18. Just beautiful! I love the detailing on the collar and the fit/color, it's all perfect. Your plan to convert it to a cocktail style is so smart.

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    1. Thanks Shams! Have to convert it - and who knows what I will do with the bit I chop off...

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  19. Your dress is "oh so beautiful" Judith!

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    1. Ohhh, thankyou, Faye! It isn't that often I get to 'dress-up' to this degree, so it was lovely to be able to make my own dress, and not risk seeing someone else wearing the same dress.

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  20. Such a beautiful dress. I love the neckline. And the colour of course.

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    1. Yes, it was a safe colour to pick for the night. At the time of choosing my fabric I wasn't sure what colour dress my son's date would be wearing, so just figured deep blue would mix in with anything...

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  21. Judith, what a beautiful dress. You and your family looked wonderful.. Best wishes.

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    1. Well...that is my hubby and son, and his lovely date/girlfriend for the formal. Would you believe we didn't get one photo with my daughter in it!!!

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  22. Stunning! I love your idea of turning it to a cocktail dress too. It's too lovely to sit and not get worn. :)

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    1. Thanks, Christina! And long dresses in Brisbane are not often see either...

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  23. Lovely - it is a good idea to turn it into a cocktail dress. I had that plan with the formal dress I made last year, but haven't had the heart to take the scissors to it!

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    1. I know exactly what you mean. It sounds good in theory, but when it comes to the actual cutting, well...

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  24. The dress is stunning - you would never have bought anything near as nice, nor as well made, I'm sure.

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    1. I did hunt around a bit looking at dresses, and there certainly are some dodgy evening dresses out there! This on is more 'me', not so revealing, a pleasant colour, and one of a kind - definitely worth the effort to make...

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  25. Gorgeous dress and love the fabric roses and beads on the neckline. It will be a stunning cocktail dress, good thinking!

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    1. Thanks, Sharon! I definitely will be chopping it off, and skimming it in to make a more versatile dress...

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  26. that is an amazing dress - congratulations - you must be glad of that sewing decision .
    Good idea to shorten it for future and perhaps you can use the fabric at the bottom for a stole ?

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    1. A stole would be a great idea, Janine. It will be about 50cm in length that I plan to chop off and a fair width. With a bit of the left over lining a stole could easily be whipped up...I can see my next project developing...

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  27. Judith, this dress is gorgeous. The trim adds just the right touch. You look awesome wearing it! You have great photos of you and your family. I look forward to more eye candy as you finish your projects.

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    1. These are just the piccies from at home, and from the Pre Formal event. The actual professional photos are still to come - and I can't wait to see them...

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  28. WOW!! Whatta dress!!! It's stunning, and even if it only gets worn once, it's certainly something to be super, duper proud of. You look fabulous in that midnight blue colour too. Love it!

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    1. Yes, on the night I received a few comments and was extremely proud to say 'I whipped this up!' The pattern was a good one, with very flattering lines ...

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  29. Well done, your dress looks beautiful - and your son looks so chuffed standing with you in that photo of the two of you :). I'm assuming he's thinking 'isn't my mum amazing to have made this gorgeous dress'...

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    1. He actually commented several times during the evening about my dress, and when waltzed around the dance floor for the Mother/Son dance it was me who was the proudest of him...

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  30. You look beautiful! Awesome work!

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    1. And there was some time consuming work in this dress - sewing all those roses on by hand, then going back to give each a little beady centre took up a fair few hours. Paired with using such a dark thread on dark fabric, it certainly tested my hand-sewing stamina ...

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  31. Sooooo glad you didn't go with shop bought - that dress is stunning. How great to have sewn it yourself! Beautiful.

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    1. I do like to whip something up for any special events, even if they are few and far between. Always nice to look back at the pictures and remember 'I made that!'...

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  32. Your dress look stunning and I think it's a great idea to change the length for more frequent future use :)

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    1. Yes Robyn. The unanimous decision is to chop it off - will have to post a picture of the 'after' view soon...

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  33. I'm so happy to see a post from you. I was wondering what you were doing. The end of a school year is brutal here, so maybe that is what you were up to?

    That is a lovely gown and the color suits you, especially with your coloring. I have never made anything so fancy.

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  34. Wow that's beautiful. I am so impressed that you have made a full evening dress (and that you're going to adjust it to get more wear out of it). Well done.

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  35. Lovely photos of your evening out. I love the dress you have made - the rose trim is perfect too!

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