Friday 13 November 2009

The sheath dress with a little bling!

With not too much trouble at all my McCalls 5927 ‘fashion sheath’, that I promised in my last post, is complete and, with as much modesty as I can muster, I have to say that I like it and think my sewing and fitting skills are improving of late.

and here's the back view

Yes, I can hardly believe it, I made it myself!

The fabric is a silk twill designed by Rebecca Taylor – purchased from Mood Designer Fabrics, during my trip to NYC in July, for $14 per yard. I made the sleeveless version of the pattern, View B, but I added the neckline tabs from View C, onto which I have sewn some jewels bought in M & J Trimmings. Here’s a close-up so you can, hopefully, see the ‘bling’ a little better -

I followed the pattern instructions fairly slavishly but added a couple of ‘little improvements’. After cutting out I stabilized the armholes, neckline and centre back edges with a lightweight fusible interfacing to stop them stretching and help the zipper go in smoothly. Like this -

The bodice lining is an ‘edge to edge’ one (no facings) so I used the technique I learnt from Connie Long’s book where you trim the armhole edges of the lining to stop it rolling out – as explained in a previous post.

I really like the cut-in pockets of this style and the neat vent at the back. The vent is the kind where you machine stitch the seam allowances of the dress and the lining together – I had never done this before and was pleasantly surprised by how quick and easy it was.

This is the first sheath dress I have made – I’d been feeling rather cautious about making such a close-fitting dress style but this one has some little pleats at the top of the skirt at the front which means that the dress skims rather nicely over an area where I (and maybe you too?) like to have some leeway. Mr Fabulous and I are going out to celebrate his birthday tomorrow night so this dress is going to get its first outing at a very fancy restaurant where I want to look good - I hope it's up to the job!

27 comments:

  1. Me likey too! I love the added tabs and the jewels...very, very nice!

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  2. That is beautiful! I love the bling. It definitely does not look "homemade" - more like "high end".

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  3. Oh Eugenia this dress is beautiful . It definitely looks from a high end shop .

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  4. You look fabulous in this dress. You have the perfect body for it. Lucky you. Have a wonderful time at the birthday dinner with Mr. fabulous. I know you will make a "fabulous pair." You will look stunning.

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  5. Eugenia, you'll be the star at the restaurant if you wear this dress tomorrow! It's stunning. If you dó have a problemarea as you say, then this dress hides it well. And thanks for your tip on sewing linen to the armholes. I read it before on your blog but I had forgotten about it.
    Congratulations to Mr. Fabulous, have a wonderful time!

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  6. You look terrific in that dress! Nice job!

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  7. Wow! Beautiful dress, suits you perfect.

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  8. Beautiful dress! Happy birthday to Mr. Fabulous! You'll rock the restaurant!

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  9. Beautiful fit and bling too? What more could you ask for?

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  10. You did a great job! Looks fabulous!

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  11. What a lovely dress - the colours are gorgeous!

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  12. Wow, your dress looks great on you! I really like the tabs and jewels at the neckline. The fit is perfect!!!!

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  13. Great fit! I love how good the fit is - especially at the waist!

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  14. You look wonderful in this dress. Fantastic job on the fit!

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  15. Wow, the fit is perfect. I just adore the fabric. So fabulous. Have a great time at dinner.

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  16. Gorgeous dress. Wear it before the temp drops!!!!

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  17. What a beautiful dress!! I would never guess it was your first time making a sheath dress! Stunning!

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  18. Fabulous job Eugenia! The fit is fantastic.

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  19. I love it, Eugenia!!! The colors look gorgeous on you and the fit is perfect.

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  20. How lovely! I wish I could sew but unfortunately it does not seem to be my fortae.

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  21. This is a mesmerizingly gorgeous dress! Kudos to you for achieving a very flattering fit. I hope you make more. You make this style look so chic. Actually you can wear ANYTHING and make a plain sack look so cool!

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  22. Great job, the dress is very pretty and you look stunning in it. I hope you had a wonderful time going out with your love. I bet he couldn't take his eyes off of you ;-)

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  23. Lady, you look terrific in your gorgeous sheath.

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