Frocks of festive past (part II)

New Look 6749

I bought the fabric I used for this dress originally for a skirt. I think sometimes I see fabric on sale and then just want to buy some. The first amount of fabric that used to come to mind is 1.5m. However 1.5m isn’t usually enough for most projects, apart from an A-line skirt or maybe a basic top.  Even 2m doesn’t seem nearly enough for most patterns. I think that’s why I have so much fabric lying around. So, it was time to think about party frocks this particular year and I picked up this pattern with the idea of making something up with the fan style strap. And as luck would have it, the pattern only required 1.5m of fabric so I was able to use this beautiful red and black cotton sateen. 

The pattern was pretty straightforward, however, I think I fudged it a bit where the strap attached to the bodice. It was a bit messy on one side so I went out and bought a nice big flower to cover it.  I’m not sure though whether I attached the straps the wrong way around because I remember the night I wore it the straps kept slipping down my shoulders.  Now I have quite broad shoulders so this was not I problem I usually encounter.  Anyways I’ve worn this dress since and the slippage doesn’t seem to happen now.  I have earmarked some cotton drill I’ve had lying around for about 4 years to make a more casual frock for this summer. I even have a zip so the dress should be ready to go any time now. 

Vogue wrap dress

I had this Vogue pattern lying around with a half made brown crepe dress, which I intended to make up with contrast colour in the inner sleeve.  I think part the way through making it I couldn’t see where exactly I would wear it and given our climate there isn’t much of the year you would wear longer sleeve dresses.  I remember having a lot of crepe fabric outfits when I was younger, before global warming when you could actually wear proper winter clothes in Queensland. These days I get through winter with ¾ length sleeves most days. Anyways it was a friend’s wedding coming up so I decided to give this pattern a go again as I really liked the style.  Like a previous blog entry I bought this red (silk look) fabric from Lincraft.  The pattern was pretty straight forward, though the fabric was maybe a little stiff for this particular style of dress.  I am not overly happy with the result. The fit is fine but I think it just looks a little stiff. It was from this pattern that I drafted my first ever belt.  I bought the fabric from the quilting section at Spotlight. And I do wear this belt quite regularly with other outfits.  So a couple of years ago now, out came this frock again, this time for festive celebrations.