Semi Dress 2017

Hello! Fun fact: my New Year’s resolution was to blog more often. Here it is, March, and I’m blogging about a dress I made in December. Oh, well. At least I’m blogging.

I made his dress for my school’s semi formal dance. We don’t have Homecoming, we have Semi. I used McCall’s 6953 for the bodice, since I’ve made that pattern several times and I know it fits me well, and the skirt was simply a circle skirt. Simply a circle skirt with, if I recall correctly, eleven layers of tulle. Then to get the measurements right for the skirt I measure the bottom of the bodice and plugged that into the circle skirt calculator I used as my waist measurement. The skirt has a lining.  Cutting the tulle was interesting, since the tulle was folded into quarters and I cut all eleven layers at once- forty-four layers. I basted all the layers to the lining before sewing the skirt to the bodice, and I used my new rolled hem foot on the lining. The bodice was made from a sequined skirt I found at a secondhand shop for twenty dollars. The tag was still attached, telling me that the skirt retailed for ninety dollars. I think that makes it the most expensive fabric I’ve ever worked with! The patter was written for a woven fabric and the skirt was a knit, but it worked fairly well. The bodice ended up a bit baggy at the bottom but it’s not too noticeable.

I made the shrug the night before the dance because the dress is sleeveless. I used a pattern I found online, but when we printed it out it was too small, so I had to modify it a bit. At one point I sewed one of the sleeves in upside-down. I was really tired, okay?! Once I was done the shrug ended up being snug, but still wearable.

The dance was my first time wearing heels since… my First Communion, maybe, or an Easter years ago? Whenever it was, I managed not to break an ankle walking in these.

This dress was a fun challenge to make and I got so many compliments on it. And… that’s it. I never know how to end these posts. I think I need a tag line. I’ll think about it!