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.˝