Beige Dress for Gaby

Last year I bought a large piece of viscose and made a Rhapsody for Gaby out of it. I had a fairly big remnant - probably half of the fabric, so this year I decided to use it to make a summer dress for Gaby.

I am modeling the dress, but it is supposed to fit Gaby, who is taller and a bit more broad-shouldered than me.

The pattern is a mesh-up of three dresses and it took me quite a while finally to cut it. The skirt is a slightly widened skirt from the Roliz dress by Vikisews. I love my Roliz and my only regret is that I didn't make the skirt a bit wider, as I had plenty of its gorgeous fabric.

The bodice is again Burda #104 02/2011 dress, but only up to the armholes. The back is cut straight and flat, and the front continues into Bailen dress by Pauline Alice, with wider straps, as I was aiming at strap width that could cover the bra straps underneath. The dress closes with a zipper on the side.

Pattern: Bailѐn Top by Pauline Alice, free pattern, Roliz by  VikiSews, Burda #104 02/2011 dress

Size: 34 

Fabric: 100% viscose for the outer dress, polyester for the lining

Time to make: 3 days

 

The dress is fully lined, as all of my woven fabric dresses lately, with simple beige lining fabric for the bodice and smooth poly-acetate lining for the skirt.

Yellow Willow Dress by Love Notions

I'm on a roll, making summer dresses for myself and Gaby. Willow Wrap dress by Love Notions has been in my plans for three consecutive years already, it was high time I made it.

This dress is also the seventh of my Make Nine fabric-and-pattern busting makes for this year - not bad. The bright yellow ITY knit fabric is perfect for a light summer dress and I was extremely comfortable today in the heat on our drive from Samokov to Sofia.

You might be wondering - where is the wrap, if it is a wrap dress? Well, when I bought the  pattern, I was into wrap dresses and I have one made out of similar polka-dot ITY fabric, but in delicious chocolate-brown. As much as I love it, it is a chore to make the wrap at the bust to stay modest, so I decided for my first Willow to skip the wrap and give it a simple front with a round neckline. My other modifications - I shortened the bodice by 2 cm and the skirt by 10 cm, to suit my figure and my preferences. 

Pattern: Willow Wrap dress by Love Notions

Size: xs, shortened

Fabric: ITY 1 m

Time to make: 3 days

The pattern comes with several sleeve options regarding length and style. I chose the flutter sleeve and I am very happy with my choice, I believe it gives the simple tricot dress a trifle of sophistication and femininity. I wasn't planning on buying more ITYs this year, but I was so impressed by the comfort and wear-ease of the dress, that if I come upon a really beautiful one, I might snatch it for a similar dress for Gaby. 

Sleeveless Butterfly Dress

Last year right at the end of summer I made myself a sleeveless Burda dress out of two chiffon fabrics. The dress was a mash-up out of two patterns - Burda 104 02/2011 with corrections and Deniz skirt by Vikisews.

The summer was then over and I never had the chance to wear the dress. However, we are in the midst of the hot summer days again and I found the little chiffon dress simply priceless, so I made myself another one.

Pattern: Burda #104 02/2011 dress and Deniz skirt by Vikisews

Size: 17 Height: 154 - 160 cm

Fabric: navy chiffon, navy georgette

Time to make: 3 days

The outer fabric is a beautiful georgette and the dress is fully lined with navy chiffon. Interesting, how I loved to wear simple knit-fabric dresses in the summer, but lately I prefer lined viscoses and georgettes.

Based on my notes from the previous dress, I raised the waist 1 cm and cut the semicircle in two parts, so that the straight line would be at the front and at the back, otherwise the pattern is the same. I'm so in love with this little dress, that I plan a few more similar dresses for the summer, both for myself and for Gaby.

The Gold Dress

And here's the dress I sewed for Gaby's graduation - sheath dress out of intricate jacquard fabric, integrating black cotton, golden color threads and black velvety patterns. Taking pictures of it under the bright sun is a bit tricky, as it is quite chameleonic in nature and changes its outlook, depending on the angle of the sun rays, falling on it.

The pattern is the same sheath dress from the Burda autumn-winter 2015-2016 catalogue in petite size - such a joy to be able to sew without constantly making changes to adjust for the height.

The sewing of the dress went quite smoothly, I took into account all the small issues I had noticed with my first dress out of this pattern. The fact, that the fabric is kind of striped and pretty stiff also made the cutting and the sewing a piece of cake.

Pattern: Burda #6890 dress

Size: 17 Height: 154 - 160 cm

Fabric: cotton jacquard, polyester lining

Time to make: 10 days

My only small issue is with the width of the sleeves - it seams to me they could be a little tighter to fit the overall outlook of the dress. At least this is what i plan for my next make out of this pattern, when the time comes.

I think this will be the last dress for 2024, but can you believe it - I've made eight dresses this year. It seams every year there is a hidden theme in my sewing and this year dresses is definitely the name of the game :)

Green Dress with Heartshaped Neckline

This is my year of dresses and I've made another one :) The pattern is much more involved than the previous sheath dress, with princess seams at the front, a hidden zipper, cut waistline and it also includes sleeves.

My fabric is a type of georgette and the lining is green colored polyester lining. The original dress is designed with a full circle skirt, but I opted for a semi-circle - neither did I have so much fabric, nor was I willing for so much volume.

My major modification was to transform the original front, which featured two separate fronts with real buttons into a single piece, only imitating a buttoned front. The major reason, apart from saving on labour, was that the original neckline was gaping on me and I had to take in some 3 cm in total from the volume. Of course, I could have opted for a solid front without any seams and if I am using more colorful fabrics for my next dress out of this pattern, that is what I plan to do, but the solid color of my fabric prompted me to add some interest to it in the form of the button band.  

  I also made my usual height modifications, which are one of the major reasons I rarely shop ready-to-wear dresses - my bust line and waist line need adjusting for my short stature. I took 0.8 cm of the height above the arm-openings and further 1 cm above waist. Next time I'll raise the waist just a tiny bit more, 0.5 - 0.7 cm would be a better fit, I think, especially if I decide to reduce the size from 36 closer to my 34.

Pattern: Burda #144 11 / 2016

Size: 36, reduced

Fabric: green georgette, polyester lining

Time to make: 1 week

The original pattern in the magazine does not include a pattern of the skirt, only instructions how to construct a full circle skirt, which is fairly simple and everybody knows, theoretically. It does not preclude the fact, that it is additional work, so I used my already cut and printed Vikisews Deniz skirt pattern, which I've been adding lately to most of my dresses.

The dress is lined - the body and the skirt are replicated out of polyester lining fabric.I did not see the point of adding volume to the sleeves, so they are left not lined. The lining of the skirt is also a semi circle skirt, but 10 cm shorter than the shell skirt.

The back closes with an invisible zipper and a hook and eye. I think I like the additional closure the hook and eye provides, however next time I think will go back to placing the invisible zipper right on edge of the neckline and skipping the clasp.

Sheath Burda Dress

My latest dress, a sheath dress based on a pattern I've had for years and finally tried.

I've had several attempts at sewing sheath dresses and found them very unflattering on me, so I was under the impression that the type of dress just wasn't my thing. However, this pattern completely changed my mind - I love it and i am definitely going to repeat it, with very minor mods again, most probably with sleeves.

The piece of fabric I used for the dress, was a gorgeous purple georgette, a small 80 cm remnant. It was completely insufficient for a dress, I had bought it just because I loved the color and the fabric, with the idea that I should be able to make something out of it, whatever, anything.

And then I printed the dress pattern and began thinking of some fabric to make a test garment. I took out this piece, saw that it was too short and put it back in my stash. But after some deliberation, I decided that I wasn't going to waste my efforts on unwearable tests and would try to make a short dress.

Once I had finished the dress, I found that it was too short for my taste, but luckily I had a piece of fabric left, from which I could cut strips to attach to the front and the two back pieces. I bought some decorative ribbon and covered the seam of attachment with the ribbon, and then added a second ribbon, just for balance. I like it with these ribbons and I think they actually look organic on the dress.

Things I would change next time - I could take just a tiny bit from the neckline at the back, not more than a centimeter from each side. I would also make the dress 2-3 cm longer and would move the front darts 0.5 cm towards the center of the dress. The main fabric is comfortable, but the lining is a bit stiff and probably needs just a bit of additional width - some 2 cm at the hip area wouldn't hurt.

Pattern: Burda #6890 dress

Size: 17 Height: 154 - 160 cm

Fabric: purple georgette, polyester lining

Time to make: 3 weeks

Burda Sleeveless Chiffon Dress

I made a new dress - for me. It is sort of a wearable muslin out of two inexpensive chiffon fabrics -  the same black chiffon I used as lining for Gaby's dress and a bit more structured, but still very transparent and flimsy black chiffon with white flowers for the main fabric.

A curious fact about chiffon - because the fabric is very transparent, the color of the lining can totally change the overall color of the dress. In my case the black lining deepens the black of the background and mutes the white of the flowers into grey. I placed the fabric, just for fun, on other chiffon fabrics I have at home and the change with lighter lining was amazing - the color immediately becomes washed out and greyish.

The pattern of the dress is a combination of an old Burda favourite of mine, which I tried to make a few years ago and abandoned  - Burda #104 from 02/2011and the skirt is again the semi-full Deniz skirt. A few notes on my modifications and observations: 

The body is designed to be cut 2 cm under the waist and the suggested skirt is a simple rectangle, gathered at the waist. I don't like such skirts and find them very unflattering, so I added the semi-full Deniz. However, I found that the semi-full skirt should stay exactly on the waist line. I did take off one of the added 2 cm under the waist, but next time I'll cut the upper body exactly at the waistline. I also made a few cm corrections on the width of the neckline at the front and the back, as Burda patterns are wide on me in this area.

Next - the hidden zipper is at the side. This is more comfortable and logical, when a dress is sleeveless. However, the semi-full skirt behaves differently, when it is rotated so, that the straight parts are at the sides - the cross-grain parts at the back and the front pull and stretch and the skirt looks uneven. In the end I had to cut the skirt in an oval form, so that it would actually look circular. Next time I'll definitely place the straight lines at the back and the front and either try to add the zipper on the cross-grain on the side or move it to the back.

A small note for next time - the arm openings are a bit too narrow, I know I am a bit peculiar and prefer wider openings on sleeveless dresses, so I'll widen them just a bit next time - it's not a big deal.

With this dress I tried the burrito method for adding the full lining of a sleeveless body and it is magic - every seam is neatly hidden inside, there are no outer seams around the neck and the arm openings and the dress looks very polished. There are plenty of videos how to add the lining like that and I heartily recommend the method.

 

Pattern: Burda #104 02/2011 dress and Deniz skirt by Vikisews

Size: 17 Height: 154 - 160 cm

Fabric: black chiffon, black chiffon with white flowers

Time to make: 4 days

Gloria Dress for Gaby

My second Gloria dress with Denis skirt, both patterns by the leading Russian pattern company Vikisews. Gaby was very enthusiastic for a feminine georgette dress for herself after I made mine a couple of months ago. I saw the fabric some time ago, sent her a picture, she liked it and it was decided - this was going to be my personal present for her birthday.

The fabric is sort of georgette, but thinner and more see-through than the fabric I used for my dress, so I had to make a lining for the skirt. I cut the lining out of sheer black chiffon and I think it worked perfectly for the fine main fabric of the dress. 

I made the dress with a few small modifications, based on previous experience: I raised the heart neckline by 2.5 cm to make it more covering, as the original is a bit low; I also narrowed the neckline by 2.5 cm both at the front and the back, as I found the original cut a bit loose. I also made most of the seams French seams because of the fine and transparent nature of my main fabric. I small note - Gaby is a bit more broad shouldered than me and I should add just a bit more volume at the sides - probably somewhere in the range of 1.5 - 2 cm total for more comfort, as the dress is a bit tight-fitting as it is. I also added 1 cm to the length of the body, as Gaby is taller than me and it was a needed correction - it fits her body well.

 

Pattern: Gloria dress and Deniz skirt by Vikisews

Size: 36

Height: 154 - 160 cm

Fabric: polyester georgette, black chiffon

Time to make: 3 days

I had very limited time to make the dress before we packed our bags for Greece and I am so, so happy that I managed, with all the challenges the thinner fabric posed. Actually, when I cut both fabrics, I was sure I had bitten more than I could chew - I don't think I had ever sewn such thin fabrics, but the result turned stunning and I am so happy I was able to present this dress to her on her birthday, which we celebrated at the sea-shore :)

Gloria dress and Denis skirt are presently my favourite patterns and I plan at least several more dresses, based on them. It could be a phase I'm going through, but I've been favouring my silk dresses this summer and I need more - I just love it, when I am wearing sophisticated feminine dresses. I've been putting on my Roliz and Gloria dresses by Vikisews on every occasion I could find and I believe Gaby was also impressed by her dress, as she wore it twice during the four days of our sea vacation :)

And might I just add, that she looked absolutely stunning in it :)

And as of today a newly-minted Master of Science from Vienna University!