Monday, June 18, 2007

The Building of a Dress - Part Two

First, I want to say that this was a totally encompassing experience that I don't want to repeat any time soon! *LOL* And then I want to say that I have another idea for this dress to make it out of linen using a ribbon for the trim at the neckline and the waistband...so yes, I am totally crazy! Here is a picture of the Chanel dress one more time on Cameron Diaz.

The back of this dress is almost a letdown in sewing details because the front has all of the details! The back only has a back neck yoke and waistband and on the next incarnation I will probably lose the back neck yoke. I guess I could have added some pleating detail to the back but felt like it was overkill.

And here is the dress on me:


A few more construction details...

1. Matching up the side seams with the waistband detailing was a major concern. I used a lot of pins and some hand-basting to make sure that the seam wouldn't move when I machine sewed it together.

2. I added the seam band to the sleeve, topstitched it and added a facing.

3. I inserted the lining (after cutting lining pieces from the finished dress pieces). I also added a lace hem to the bottom of the lining so that it would look like a slip.

4. A one inch hem was turned up on the dress and rayon seam binding was added to it. Then it was hand stitched down.

One thing about this dress is that I did a lot of topstitching on it. I didn't see this detail in the pictures but I liked it for my dress. I deliberately used a thread color that sunk into the fabric and a small stitch length because this was not a detail that I wanted standing out. However, I felt all the topstitching was necessary to keep all the parts in place.

I did omit the front pockets and the front seaming. The front pockets because they would just not be attractive on me and the seaming because I was more concerned with making sure that I got the pleating, yoke and waistband details to work...maybe in the next incarnation I will add the front seaming back ~ but definitely not the pockets!



Even though the details on the back of the dress were the simplest, it seemed like it took forever to finish the dress. Or maybe its just that I don't like finishing details! *smile*

And even though I have an idea for another dress like this in mind...this is what is really inspiring me next. I know I wrote about the pink & chocolate combination for a pantsuit and I even have the pants and top cut out but dresses just seem to be pushing my creative buttons right now.

This St. John dress is much simpler than the Chanel one and will probably be easier to complete. I am also using my TNT dress pattern to make this one too!



And if you want to see more pictures of the dress and the process they are available in my Yahoo photo album!

I think I am going to go read a book now!

35 comments:

  1. Your pink dress is gorgeous! Great job, it looks like some immaculate sewing. What an inspiration you are!

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  2. That dress is beautiful and the color is so flattering!

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  3. Simply beautifuL dress! YOu are so creative and inspire me to keep on sewing and to get better at it.

    Maureen

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  4. Another beautiful dress. What an adventure to see a dress go from inspiration to completion. Thanks for showing us your creative process

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  5. My first thought was an inarticulate and some cliche'd "Wow" but there it is....Wow.

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  6. Beautiful and so feminine. It looks wonderful on you. I love that color. It was fun seeing your inspiration and then you making it come to life.

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  7. You look fabulous in your dress! What a great interpretation!

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  8. FABULOUS! I love your new dress and enjoyed following its progress so much! Congratulations!

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  9. Beautiful. Congratulations on taking from the photo and making it your own. And I love that St John one.....And it looks pretty easy to do (compared to the Chanel one lol)

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  10. So very beautiful!!!!! It looks wonderful on you....

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  11. All your work on this one paid off - great results!!

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  12. Great dress! And it looks great on you!

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  13. Congratulations! That's a beautiful dress, and it looks great on you. Very impressive!

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  14. Wow! That is so beautiful. The details really make a difference. You amaze me with your ability to take an inspiration piece and interpret it and turn it into your own. I'm looking forward to seeing the next one!

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  15. Beautiful dress - beautiful you! Thanks for sharing all the details. You really inspire me to make my projects my own.

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  16. Pink is a color that I have always avoided since I wore it so much in my (ahem) youth. But YOU..you look fabulous in that color. Maybe it's just a case of which pink to choose. The dress came out gorgeous and the whole outfit is a very sophisticated summer look. Now, how about a hat???

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  17. What fun! Carolyn, you're tempting me to dedicate myself to finding a simple dress pattern and making it fit so I can follow your example and play with it like this. It's so cool to see the inspiration turn into a fabulous garment...thanks for sharing it!

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  18. Carolyn, I love that dress and I agree with everyone. It is absolutely amazing to watch you go from inspiration photo (that you can't even see well) to finished, fabulous garment!

    I have got to get a TNT pattern and some guts!!! g

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  19. I love the detailing and how flattering it is on you. Thanks for the inspiration, TNTs, here I come!

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  20. Absolutely beautiful!!!

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  21. Carolyn - OMG, that dress is gorgeous! Pink looks so good on you, so feminine, so pretty, so fresh. You did a fantastic job of taking a photo of a dress and making it your own. Congratulations!

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  22. The dress is really wonderful, but most amazingly so are your detailed instructions! Thanks again for sharing. You and those TNT patterns amaze me...I'm still trying to find some of my own.

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  23. It came out looking absolutely fabulous! And due to the details, looks like a totally different dress than any other from that same pattern. Don't hit me, but I have to say it: Pretty in Pink. ;) It's what you are. V flattering.

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  24. oh, that St Johns is TDF - trim? machine embroidery? I *love* the detail at the waist with the little V in the trim.

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  25. You look fabulous!
    Miriam

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  26. A very elegant dress! I really enjoyed the insight into your creative and sewing process. You are so productive! Do you have a sense for the amount of time this dress took from concept to completion?
    Linda

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  27. Beautiful dress, wonderful intelligent work. I love that you took on this dress and made it your own. Congratulations on a fabulous result and thanks for sharing the process. *Fernanado Lamas accent* You look marvelous!

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  28. The dress looks devine on you and I agree with everyone... it is absolutely amazing to watch you go from magazine photo to your sense of style. The St. John dress is fabu.

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  29. The pleating looks fantastic--I could never do such an amazing job.

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  30. The dress is great!!!!I am surprised that you don't like it but I have been where you are after completing something like this. Maybe it will improve after letting it set in your closet.

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  31. OH My! I am inspired now. The Chanel dress is divine. You look lovely in it. Fantastic job.

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