Birthday Dress #1

Happy New Year! This is where I spent mine, in blissful Bali.

Sigh, OK back to reality.....

So this is the dress for my friend that I finished on Christmas morning! It was her birthday on 30 Dec and we had a dinner planned for that evening and then a party on New Years Eve so earlier in the year I offered to make 2 dresses for her, one for each occasion. How crazy am I? How much does my time management suck? Would I put myself through it again - of course!

The birthday dinner dress started life as BWOF 03/2008-112A and after several failed attempts at building some support into the dress, on Christmas Eve (yes really!) we decided to add wide straps that would hide underwear.

The fabric is a silk / lycra blend from Hong Kong's Western market, apparently made for Chloe, expensive but absolutely gorgeous to sew.

And here is my friend modelling it, I felt so happy seeing it on her which is of course why I would be daft enough to do it again.

M.I.A

I'm just popping my head in to wish everyone very happy holidays wherever you are and safe travels in these snowy times. (no white Christmas for me in Hong Kong obviously!)

I have been sewing but not blogging as, fool that I am, have been making two dresses for a friend who has a BIG birthday at the end of the year. We are all off to Bali for New Year to celebrate along with her Aussie family. The dresses are supposed to be a surprise to her friends and family and while I doubt that any of them would see this blog I'd hate to be the one who lets the cat out of the bag. So pictures of those to come in 2010.

Assuming I finish them of course......will still be hemming with one hand and eating turkey with the other at this rate.

Back in the sewing room

But sadly only to type. My visitors have left so I can now reclaim the sewing room, hooray! However, today my apartment is being photographed for a local interiors magazine and when I start sewing I seem to create mess everywhere so I have to wait.

However, it is amazing what a few well placed props, especially fresh flowers, can do and I am learning a lot from the stylist on simple things to improve the look of my flat. The magazine will come out in January but I sneaked a few pictures of my own in the meantime so allow me to indulge in a non-sewing post. Sewing starts tomorrow!

Gerberas in plain glass votives to match my cushions

Bathroom bamboo

White amaryllis

Purple orchids and plump pillows

A Little Break from Dresses

My father and stepmother are coming to visit for 2 weeks and while I am looking forward to their visit the downside is that I lose my sewing room for that whole time. So I didn't want to start a new dress pattern only to have to abandon it for 2 weeks, but I did want to sew something. A knit top seemed like the perfect thing so I pulled out a recently purchased Simplicity Project Runway pattern, 2733 and some bright blue rayon jersey and got to work.

I would probably buy more Simplicity patterns in this range if I could see what the heck was going on, you have to open up the patterns to get all the line drawings. I confess I really only bought this one for the gathered sleeve. [Oh, I take it all back, the Simplicity website has undergone a major revamp, you can see the line drawings and zoom in on the pattern envelopes. Good for Simplicity (bad for my bank balance and pattern stash!).]

I made a couple of changes to this version, leaving off the pockets and changing the gathered front to a flat front. I think the top as photographed on the pattern is very cute but I fear on me I would look very pregnant and I wasn't in the mood for experimenting!

The alteration was quite straightforward, first I attached the pocket and front piece together to make a single pattern piece and then folded out the excess originally added for gathers at the centre front and another fold in the middle of the pattern piece, then added a bit back at the side seam so that it would still be wide enough at the hips. Probably not the professional way to do it, but it worked and was easy to do.

Dress 3 of 7 - Vogue 1117 Michael Kors

This is the Michael Kors pattern everyone got excited about when it was released, followed by disappointment that the pattern photo just didn't look as good as the runway shots of this $2000 dress. I've ploughed ahead anyway, someone do tell me (gently) if I look a frump in it!

As I mentioned in my last post, although this pattern is rated average it is a bit fiddly and time consuming. However it is drafted really well and the instructions do give you a nice finish. When I cut the lining I really could not see how it was all going to fit together properly, but almost miraculously it just did!

The bodice fit is not as perfect as I would like - it sits off my shoulders a little bit and I had to wrap it a little tighter to eliminate any gaping at the front. The fabric is a grey lightweight wool, with silk satin lining - it feels really luxurious on, maybe not worth $2000 but not bad!

Finished dress with as yet unpressed hem, as Barney the cat is trying to remind me.

Close up of bodice - to get the top to fit me without gaping I needed to pull it in tighter so the pleats in the front bodice have almost disappeared into the side front seam.

I added a faced hem because I wanted a bit of extra length to wear this with boots in the fall, but still wanted a hem finish with a bit of weight to it. I understitched it and then hand sewed it invisibly to the dress.