Hi friends! 'Tis the season for weddings! And boy howdy, we have had four cousins gettin' hitched this summer alone! Here is the dress I made for wedding #3 :) My sis has a fancy new camera and wanted to jump in on the photo taking, so enjoy...




This fabric is very special, as it was hand picked and sent to me from my beautiful friend Maude in Canada :) If you haven't been on her adorable and somewhat nerd-tastic blog, check it out HERE (Whovians for life!) Back to the fabric - it is a purple floral print on white with some brown/tan accents. The fabric is a type of chiffon, I think, but it is textured and kind of hefty, almost opaque! I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to work with.

Oh, and these photos are just plain ol' plain, taken on my point and shoot, by the hubs... ;)



Here are the details:

Pattern: New Look 6282 - Misses dress, with strap variations and maxi or high/low skirt

Materials:

Main fabric - gifted from Maude :)
Lining fabric - white cotton "Daphne" - Joanns
Elastic

Sizing / Alterations:

Size 12 bust, 14 waist
Size 16 hips

OKAY, so one should not assume that a pattern alteration will work for ANY pattern, just b/c it did on the last several... and a gathered skirt is not the same as an elasticized skirt.

For many of my dresses, I adjust for my larger hips by cutting the largest hip size and gathering it more to fit the smaller waist size. This has worked really well in some cases, but not this time. First, with main fabric and lining fabric, you've got a lot of poof there at the waist just from excess fabric - not flattering. Second, a skirt that is gathered by thread is not the same as one that is drawn in by elastic. In fact, this is not a "gathered" skirt piece at all - it should fit exactly to the waist of the bodice with no gathering required. I goofed up here. I was hoping for something slimming and flowy like my Anna maxi dress... instead I got flower poof waist!

Construction Notes:

Love the beautiful finish of the bodice neckline / straps with the lining - so professional and elegant! Just a word of warning - the straps are sewn on before the lining, so be sure they are exactly the length and placement you want. Otherwise it will be difficult to adjust later!

Serged most edges for a clean finish - tiny hem with topstitching for slits and hem of skirt


Wearability:

First of all, this dress perfectly matched the colors of my cousin's wedding, and she personally approved the fabric, so that's a win win!

The straps and neckline are so elegant, but not too low cut - keepin' it classy ;)

It definitely works better with a belt! Found a perfect one (cough, cough... the morning of the wedding, cough) at Kohl's to match the sandals and clutch (tassel) I already had!

That said, here are a few photos of the dress, sans belt:



And you can't wear a dress with slits and not try the Angelina pose...


And with that, I'm out! Peace!