Ball Dress

I haven't felt like writing posts for a while as there has been a lot of computer time at work so the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was more writing. However, I have been doing loads of sewing so I thought I'd start putting a few of the recent (-ish) projects up.

Starting with this dress and jacket I made to go to the winter ball (in November). I wanted a floor length dress that wasn't too fussy but it also needed to cover my shoulders. I struggled to find a suitable pattern so in the end I used two Kwik sew ones that and mashed them together a bit.

For the dress I used pattern K3400 (without the train). It is a flattering empire line dress with a seam between the bodice and main skirt fabric. I used a black satin backed crepe but showing the "wrong" side as I didn't want a shiny dress. I actually liked using it this way around as it was a nice weight and didn't need lining! Especially using an overlocker to finish the seams off.

The jacket was a bit more of a combination affair. I liked the capped sleeves from the K3516 pattern but didn't want the high neck line. Luckily because they were both Kwik sew patterns and obviously from the same pattern block it was easy enough to substitute the front of the jacket from the other pattern.  I did have to modify it slightly as the removal of the collar would have meant doing some hand sewing along the open neck edge to allow the lining to be inserted and turned out correctly. To prevent this I cut the back lining out in two pieces (adding a seam allowance) and left a portion of this open to turn the jacket out and hand sew shut where no-one would see. The fabric I used was left over from my wedding dress so is actually a wonderful heavy weight beaded silk and the lining is also silk!! 

To coordinate the jacket and dress I used some of the jacket fabric as a sash but have only tacked it in place. The view being that I can now make a new jacket and change the ribbon for an entirely new dress for the next event - genius!