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Friday 11 February 2011

Embellished LBD



Thank you for your pearls of wisdom following my last post. I know this happens to us all at one time or another and that if I forced myself to make something it would end up a wadder. It's not as if I have clients or a deadline to worry about. It seems the universe is doing its best to help too - this week I received Patrones #300, a late Christmas gift on making vintage bags and Vogue are having an online sale so I may get a few of the new patterns. So I will be back in action soon I think.

Meanwhile I did something I have been meaning to do for a while - embellish a plain LBD with some stones. (I just found my original blog post talking about this from August 2009 so anytime I announce a plan feel free to take no notice!).

I wanted to create a "necklace" effect and just arranged the stones directly on the dress until I was happy with the result. I then roughly drew the final design so I wouldn't forget it and stitched the stones on starting in the centre. My stitching and placement are not perfect - I don't think I will be getting a call from Lesage anytime soon - but I am happy with it.


The dress is from my old favourite, Burda 02/2009 - 124 which I have made 3 times already - and has been sitting in my wardrobe for over a year ever since I made it for my grandmothers funeral. I think it deserves to be worn again and I think she would agree.



Back issues of Burda query
"D" recently left a comment on an old post asking where to get a copy of Burda 04/2008, specifically for the trench jacket with pleat trim. Sorry I was not able to reply personally so I hope you see this D. Other than the usual ebay, Pattern review classifieds the only other suggestion I have is to search on Pattern Review and see if anyone near to where you live would be willing to lend or copy the pattern for you. Alternatively you could search for a similar pattern in the big 4 and add your own pleated trim - it's just a strip, I think this and the topstitched belt are the only really unique details so you could get pretty close. If anyone has any other ideas please let me know.

26 comments:

  1. What a great idea and I love the little imperfections in the placement of the beads, it so avantgarde!
    And this is really weird, by that's my favourite dress pattern as well, I've used it twice already and even as a template for a nightgown.
    It's really strange but whenever you show something you've made using a Burda pattern chances are I've used the same pattern too, (like the fur coat pattern).

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  2. An idea and its realisation is so perfect! This embellishment adds a luxury style to your dress

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  3. Lovely, and yes, I think it gives the dress new life.

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  4. Beautiful job, wonderful idea.

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  5. I've been trying to add embellishments to my projects so this is great inspiration.

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  6. Beautiful embellishment, it looks fantastic! So inspiring...

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  7. I think it's gorgeous! Are these sew on or did you glue them on? Did you have to put something behind them on the dress for extra support?

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  8. Love the jewels on this classic dress! Nothing I like better than "built in jewelry".

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  9. I recognized that dress from the neckline shot! Your grandmother would be pleased you're wearing it again.
    Hello background cat!

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  10. Gorgeous dress!
    For D - try checking the local library. I was so surprised to find ours has a burda subscription and you can borrow the magazines including pattern sheets for free.

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  11. this is so pretty, I love how you lied the embellishments, it really added to the look of the dress

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  12. Lovely! I can only hope to sew one this gorgeous.

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  13. For back issues you could contact a distributor who also offers Burda mag subscriptions.

    Or you could try your local library - my city library subscribes and lends back issues. The popular issues are always out though so you might have to wait!

    And if your library doesn't subscribe perhaps you could suggest that they do?

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  14. Your dress looks fabulous. I love this pattern. Now you have shown me that there's another way to make it up!

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  15. I love how this turned out --- the embellishment really enhances this dress --- so elegant. I'm curious if you have any resources to share for how to add this type of embellishment?

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  16. I love that you've turned a sad dress into a happy one. I'm sure Grandma would appreciate the bling.

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  17. What a great way to update an old so neccessary dress. I've not worn the one that I made for my father's funeral but maybe I need to move it from the back of my closet and update it too!

    It is absolutely stunning with the embellishment!

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  18. Love the embellishment. I think it looks well done and very nice on you dress!

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  19. Wow! It looks super high end designer. It was a lovely dress but associated with sad things, and now is the perfect glam LBD. What a brilliant idea!

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  20. What a fabulous way to upgrade a beautiful classic LBD to something very special. It looks like something that would cost a lot of money in a designer store!

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  21. Love the embellishment! Tone on tone is always so classy.

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  22. Oh lovely embellishment! Do you ever post line drawings of pattern mags or know where to see Patrones? I am very interested in ordering Patrones nÂș300 but would like to see the line drawings first.

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  23. It looks really fun with the new additions!

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  24. Adding the stones does give this dress new life.

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  25. I've found some of the Burda World of Fashion patterns on BurdaStyle.com. Maybe this one will be there.

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