A fast dress for a wedding

Last Saturday we attended the wedding of a close friend and colleague. This event deserved a new DIY dress. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare so I needed a simple pattern from a trustful source. The new Burda issue (September, 2014) came right on time with a few dresses to choose from. Burda knows its job – the patterns are accurate and well-explained. When you have only a couple of evenings after work to the last thing you want is pattern alternation. I’ve sewn a lot from Burda, so I knew my size and things that could eventually come up.

 The hardest part of this project was finding the fabric. I have a few sources in Sofia and I needed some time to check them out. I came up with two cotton with sateen fabrics – an indigo and blue-green one. Then I found the perfect fabric for the upper part of the outfit – a violet wool. Thus, I was to sew an indigo dress.

The model consisted of a strapless upper part and a gathered skirt. The skirt was easy to make but the upper part needed some time.

The sewing process had a few steps during the week.

First evening (Monday) – I copied the pattern pieces on paper and cut them out. My sister suggested that I use a baking paper for that. Genius! Then I made a mock-up form a simple muslin. I was lucky enough and the size worked fine. I didn't need to do alterations. Next step was to make channels along the seams for busks. The process was similar to the sewing of my wedding dress.

Second evening (Wednesday) – I cut and sewed the pieces for the bodice. I made the lining form the main fabric as well. That saved me a lot of troubles. Then I sewed the upper part, the underlining (with busk), and the lining together.  

Early next morning I cut the pieces for the skirt and went to work.

Third evening (Thursday) – the skirt was made by two rectangulars 100 x 74 cm (40 x 30 inches). They were sewn together on one of the short sides. Then, one of the long sides was gathered until the piece’s length measured the length of the lower part of the bodice. The skirt was carefully attached to the bodice. The next step was to attach the zipper on the left side and to finish the lower left side of the skirt.  

Forth night (Friday) – I cut the pieces for the jacket. I chose a simple model, without lining and closing. I sewed it together to find out it was too big. It was already too late so I left if for the next morning.

The morning on the wedding day (Saturday) – I cleaned the inside of the dress and hemmed the skirt. Then, the lower end of the lining was hand-sewn to the waist. I love to have very clean insides of all of my clothes. I attached some decorative cord on the waist on the right side of the dress. It was a cord with glass beads on it. I small but effective decoration for the otherwise simple dress.

  

 Next, I finished the alternations to the jacket and sewed the same cord on its both front parts. It got a whole new look!

I was done right on time! I had time only to put some make up and rush trough the door!

 Honestly speaking, I love the final result. The dress dance all night and kept itself togetherJ It even drank some wine which I need to take care of now. However this was a small price to pay!