The Anatomy of a New Dress - The Details

The dress is finished.  I sewed the last stitch in last night.  Now don't go scrolling down to see pics of me in the dress because there aren't any.  I plan on taking this dress with me to Chicago this weekend to wear to the Haute Couture fashion show on Sunday. I will have pictures of me in it then because I knew when I started this journey that I was making the dress for this trip.  So how about some details...


First, this dress has ALOT of hand stitching in it.  All of the piping was hand basted in before being machine sewn down.  Since there is piping at the neckline, the sleeve hems and two rows of piping in the waist insert you can imagine that this took some time. Then the lining is hand stitched to the zipper tape and the hem at the bottom of the dress, as well as, the sleeve hems.


Even though this dress is similar to other dresses I've made before with the base of the dress being made from my TNT dress pattern, there were some details that stood out. Some because I've made them before and some because of the time and effort associated with bringing them to fruition in this dress.

The piping at the neckline is a common detail in my dresses.  I like the way it defines the neckline and I will continue to use this feature in my dresses.

The piping at the sleeve hems were a journey and I'm planning a post on how I added them to the sleeve for later in the week.

The bias inset at the waistline is the eye-catching detail (the money shot) in this dress.  It was the most challenging part of the dress and caused me to change direction after the first insert didn't work.

I love lace on the hem of my lining.  It makes the lining feel like a slip (luxurious lingerie) and adds a special-ness to the dress.  


Finally a pic of Lulu wearing the dress...

Now that the dress is done, I'm much happier with it.  Yes, the silhouette is familiar but this is a silhouette that I'm most comfortable wearing and that I believe I look prettiest in.  Since confidence is a huge factor in making you feel better about anything, I'm gonna keep on wearing and making this silhouette! *smile*


I've already moved on...starting my first piece on "The Ten Yard Adventure" wardrobe. This dress is pressed and hanging, waiting to be packed for the journey to Chicago...


...as always, more later!