Today I turn 25.
I made this dress to celebrate my quarter of a century. My mum surprised me with afternoon tea on Saturday at the Windsor Arms Hotel to celebrate, and I felt very well dressed for the occasion (& for the posh environment!)
This dress had been a UFO (unfinished object) for long time. Vogue 1174 (designed by Cynthia Steffe) was one of the first Vogue patterns I ever picked up. I really loved the pattern and I was really impressed by the many versions of this dress that other blogging seamstresses have made and shared (like this, this and this.) I got the Nani Iro ‘Poster Fleur’ fabric from Miss Matatabi about a year ago (from Japan!)
When I first started this dress, I must have been a little overconfident, because it was well beyond the my skill level. After running into multiple difficulties, I ended up throwing it into a corner and forgetting about it for months. I have more half finished projects than I’d like to admit, but this one was really special for me… So, using my birthday as a deadline, I pushed myself to get it done, et Voilà!
The skills I learned from this project: making bias tape and piping, and using boning. I used interfacing on the bodice pieces on the outer fabric and on the lining fabric. I don’t think that was called for in the pattern, but I got the idea from reading some posts about it. It made the bodice a lot more stiff and structured. This was the first time I used boning, but it’s pretty uncomfortable, so I might end up taking it out… well see. Also, the dress has pockets!
Close up of the Piping
Pockets!
A lot of the other blog posts about Vogue 1174 I read also commented on the weird sizing for this pattern. The first time I sewed all the pieces up it was a size 10, and way too big for me, so I ended up grading it down to a 6 and it fits like a glove! Fit is something I’m still trying to get a grasp of in general, but I’m glad that this one turned out alright.
I think I would make it again (perhaps when my skills have improved even more, this dress is a little rough around the edges…), but maybe with straps, like these ones. One can only have so many strapless dresses!
Anyways, I had a wonderful long weekend full of food & presents with my wonderful family & friends. Hope all the other Torontonians in the blogosphere enjoyed the beautiful long-weekend weather too!
– The Birthday Girl
Feminine Fabrications 