Cocktail dress update

As usual I am sewing at a snails pace so here is a little progress report on my anniversary party dress. It is a combination of the Hot Patterns Bollywood Dress (bodice) and a Patrones Lacroix pattern (skirt), you can see the patterns in my earlier post here. (Wow, that was a month ago and now the party is only 3 weeks away, better get my skates on.)

I'm fine tuning the fit at the moment which is a bit of a pain with a side zipper - lots of basting, trying on and rebasting going on here. Boring, but unavoidable.

Inside skirt pleat detail, the whole dress is interlined with silk organza.

You can't see the colour very well here, it is more turquoise than royal blue.

I'm still thinking about whether to add any hem detail or other embellishment, at the moment it feels like a lot of dress and I am trying to avoid the bridesmaid / prom look so I may leave it as it is.

I did find this crystal trim and individual stones which match perfectly (in real life if not in photos) and I thought instead of stitching it permanently to the dress I would make some detatchable motifs to get a look similar to the Lacroix dress if I feel like it. I have a black tie function shortly after I get back from the UK so I can wear this dress again for that and add the bling!

Finally, Amanda asked about washing silks - apart from this type of special occasion formal dress, I bung all my silks other than dupion in my washing machine! If I can't wash the finished dress in the machine I'd rather know upfront otherwise it just isn't going to get worn. I know this may seem a bit reckless but so far I haven't had any problems. Silk is much tougher than we give it credit for. BUT I don't want lots of irate readers blaming me for ruining their favourite pieces of fabric so please do test a sample first. I admit I have ruined numerous wool sweaters this way, but my silk dresses and tops have all been fine.