The dress for nowhere

I am currently playing stash game at SewingMamas.com, which is to try to get us to sew up some of our stash and NOT buy more fabric.

Mildly successful with that one.

I have really nowhere to wear this satin dress, but it is pretty.  I have made plenty of dresses for Anya that she has worn hardly at all, so I guess this time it was my turn.

I really liked this fabric and but passed it over several times when I went to the fabric store, as I was not sure what I would make with it.  Once the store was closing, the fabric was cheap enough that I decided to buy it and figure out something.  The border print was just along one side, so I had about two yards of that print for the skirt.  I paid $5 for it, and it is a really nice thick satin with a nice hand to it.

This dress has the upper bodice of Vogue 8828.  I wanted a band along the rib cage, and then added the pleated skirt.  The bodice is lined.  I cut the sides of the bodice and the band on the bias, as I wanted it to be comfortable to wear.  My lining had a slight stretch.  I have a very nice Calvin Klein fitted dress that is just a bit uncomfortable, as it has not a bit of give in the bodice.  Sometimes you need to breathe.  The bias cuts give it that bit of stretch.

I cut the bodice for a D-cup, as this one has pattern pieces for different cup sizes (Yay!).  It was a little too big and the peak was about an inch too high (hello age and droopiness!), so next version will have some changes.

The zipper is resurrected from a black leather jacket that I cut apart for a purse.  That little bit of fabric at the bottom of the zipper is to camouflage how I messed up that bit.  Oh well.  That stuff happens sometimes, and I think it still looks fine.  I wanted the zipper to be exposed, but not fully exposed, as in on top of the fabric, as I think that looks horribly unfinished.  Not a huge fan of that look.  The black zipper ties in the black on the sleeves and the black in the border.  All for a purpose!

(The fabric really is all white…it’s just hard to take pictures of shiny white satin indoors at night!)

I think I should have put in pockets in this dress.  That big skirt screams, “I need pockets!”, but alas, I would have had to cut the skirt and I didn’t want to bother with it.  After messing with the bodice and lining and sleeves I just wanted to get that darn zipper in. Pockets would have held that up.

I did end up wearing this to work with a sweater over the top and some boots.  Dressing it down a bit so I can actually wear it!

I will link this up with Project Sewn‘s sew-a-long (when they get to that week), as this is pretty much my “Signature Style”.  Dressy, semi-fitted, and butchering up patterns to hodgepodge something together into a wearable piece!