Monday, June 20, 2022

My Old Rose Romantic Midi Dress AKA My Beautiful Tent

Hello doggy!

Earrings were made by my oldest daughter.


There has been an idea of this dress for a long time in my head but because there was no real need for it it hasn't come true up till now. I'm a teacher at primary school and our 9th graders had their junior prom (a conclusion of their years in primary school)  and that's the reason I decided to sew the dress. I made it in 3 days. Pretty quick if I'm motivated.

I chose a pattern from BurdaStyle 7/2015; mod. 110/111; size: 40 - it's a great pattern, simple but beautiful.

I used viscose jersey for the top part (bought in the Netherlands, here:https://driessenstoffen.nl/en/products/viscose-jersey-uni/ ) and chiffon for the skirt part and the sleeves (bought in Slovenia, here: https://svetmetraze.si/kategorija/pomlad-poletje-2022). I will try to calculate the costs. The skirt has a soft and flowy lining which is probably just some kind of polyester, also bought in Slovenia, actually together with chiffon fabric. It's a relatively good combination, as good as it gets. 

(MY USEFUL TIP TO MYSELF: buy fabric for lining whenever and wherever you have a chance because it can come in handy. So, I always ask for some nice soft, lightweight fabric for lining: cotton, viscose, polyester, silk even though I don't need lining at that exact moment - we all know what that means - making a stash!!) 


I carefully thought everything out and came to a conclusion that I don't need a side zipper (I am slightly lazy BUT I actually thought this to be a good idea). I realized that there is going to be enough space for me to pull it over my head, my bust and then it will sit on my hips. It's not bad, I wiggle in and out of this dress. The top part is stretchy. The skirt sits nicely. I lifted the neckline slightly (I sewed a few centimetres higher up for a modest neckline.)



I had to shorten the sleeves for 15 cm because I had just 2 m of the chiffon fabric. I also used less fabric for the skirt part than it was suggested in Burda magazine, again, because I had too little fabric. But it looks OK. There is so much fabric around my legs that I call it ˝my beautiful tent˝. It's nice to have a romantic maxi/ midi dress like that. It's probably a midi dress but I'm on the short side myself.



I completed the top part with the facing and then just carefully sewed the left and right half together by hand. And then I sewed cheap pearls (not buttons but pearls for making girls' bracelets) on the neckline. 

Overall look seems vintage too me but I am no expert on vintage, not even a big fan. Maybe it's the colour that makes it.






Pictures of the process:





Love it, love it:

Can you spot the dog?



As you can see from the millions of pictures I took that I really like this dress. I would love to make it in a soft flowery cotton (batist) or maybe viscose to wear it everyday (because this one doesn't look very everyday-ish). And I can sew a side zipper, I'm not a beginner. (And besides, I also discovered a way to take photos of myself without my husband.)



Attaching the skirt (2 layers) to the top part



I'm probably going to try a  no-zipper-thing again in the future (with stretch fabric of course). I like simplifying and experimenting. Oh, and one more useful tip I heard recently on YouTube: wear a maxi or a midi dress and you are: one-and-done; well, quickly dressed and ready to go and face the world. I would change it to ˝make yourself a maxi/ midi dress and you are one-and-done.˝