I've been after an A-line dress for aaaages, to wear with a very lovely vintage 60s long jacket the boy bought me a while back. A-line dresses don't seem to be in fashion at the mo though, and vintage ones are always a size teeny weeny, so I gave up looking for one, and decided to try making one.
The last dress I made was in 1996, and was black stretch lace. Basically it was a long see through lacy vest, and I just wore it with bra and knick-knocks like the brazen hussy I was... 14 years later, I aim for a slightly classier look. I emphasise 'slightly'... I mean 'Classy'.
So, not being too familiar with darts et al, I pulled out a couple of brill sewing books to help me:
A Guide to Basic Sewing from the 70s, and the ace, Eithne Farry's 'Yeah, I Made it Myself'.
And between 2 seperate sets of instructions and a bought shift dress, I managed to cobble together some sort of pattern...
And then ruddy well made this beaut, out of some black canvas-y fabric, just as a bit of a tester:
And it only took me an hour or so, AND I managed to put a zip in the back, and satin-y bias binding around the neck line, and arm holes.
Then I thought about how to make it a bit snazzier, as it was actually quite a good little dress, and my first thought was of the Pearly Kings and Queens of the East End, as I've always wanted a pearly item of clothing, so this is how I've found myself ordering hundreds of pearly buttons off Ebay.
And going by the designs on these guys, I've decided on scalloped edging, bells, anchors, hearts and horseshoes. Ambitious? Moi?
Here is my pearly dress so far:
It is going to take me freakin' ages, and I have no idea when I am actually gonna wear it, but in my head, I have already designed the hat to go with it, and it will be the best outfit ever!
Anyway, I'll keep you posted on my progress. And if you don't get any pearly dress updates, just give me a nudge okay? Many of my projects get left half done, and I really don't want this to be one of them...
Pearly Lovings
xx
P.S. How cute is TobyBoo's Pearly Tooth Pocket?
Buy yours here!!
The last dress I made was in 1996, and was black stretch lace. Basically it was a long see through lacy vest, and I just wore it with bra and knick-knocks like the brazen hussy I was... 14 years later, I aim for a slightly classier look. I emphasise 'slightly'... I mean 'Classy'.
So, not being too familiar with darts et al, I pulled out a couple of brill sewing books to help me:
A Guide to Basic Sewing from the 70s, and the ace, Eithne Farry's 'Yeah, I Made it Myself'.
And between 2 seperate sets of instructions and a bought shift dress, I managed to cobble together some sort of pattern...
And then ruddy well made this beaut, out of some black canvas-y fabric, just as a bit of a tester:
And it only took me an hour or so, AND I managed to put a zip in the back, and satin-y bias binding around the neck line, and arm holes.Then I thought about how to make it a bit snazzier, as it was actually quite a good little dress, and my first thought was of the Pearly Kings and Queens of the East End, as I've always wanted a pearly item of clothing, so this is how I've found myself ordering hundreds of pearly buttons off Ebay.
And going by the designs on these guys, I've decided on scalloped edging, bells, anchors, hearts and horseshoes. Ambitious? Moi?
Here is my pearly dress so far:
It is going to take me freakin' ages, and I have no idea when I am actually gonna wear it, but in my head, I have already designed the hat to go with it, and it will be the best outfit ever!
Anyway, I'll keep you posted on my progress. And if you don't get any pearly dress updates, just give me a nudge okay? Many of my projects get left half done, and I really don't want this to be one of them...
Pearly Lovings
xx
P.S. How cute is TobyBoo's Pearly Tooth Pocket?
Buy yours here!!
2 comments:
That is awesome! Nice work clever lady. :)
if your the pearly queen can i please be your king ?xx
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