Today I’m sharing a peek at the making of a dress for a special occasion: the Minerva Crafts meetup this weekend. As you’ve probably noticed by now (I’m one of the last!) all of us Minerva bloggers are showing a preview of our dresses before the big meetup party on Saturday night, and will share the finished frocks after this weekend. You can see the other bloggers’ previews here – I can’t wait to see them all in person.
My dress went through a ton of twists and turns before ending up nothing like I planned – in fact it’s not same project as I originally picked at all – but I’ve ended up with something that I REALLY love and can’t wait to show off.
Sooo, I won’t dwell too much on my first failed dress as the pain is still raw: it was supposed to be Simplicity 1876 in a really lovely satin-backed dupion, but everything that could do wrong, did. I really fancied the challenge of all the new techniques – boning, strapless, peplum skirts – but several ill-fitting toiles and an abandoned half-finished garment later, I decided it was a step too far, especially with the time pressure added in. Plus, I realised I would never go for a flouncy, fitted style like that in RTW so even if I’d nailed the construction I don’t think I would have felt comfortable in it. Sadly, it was what we term a ‘wadder’.
In a bit of a panic, I emailed Vicki from Minerva to say I was ordering a brand new kit and could she rush it through – it showed up the very next day leaving me plenty of time to sew my next dress. I’d picked two new fabrics just in case I didn’t like one in person, but they both turned out to be gorgeous so I wavered for a while on which to use. In the end I went for the cheaper one just in case I needed to call it a toile and use the reserve fabric as well – but I ended up loving it just as it was!
While I really needed this second try to work out for me, I still wanted a challenge and something that would look impressive at the party. So I went for something that was at the far bounds of my comfort zone, but much more ‘me’ style- and silhouette-wise. Here’s a little mood board I put together based on some lovely frocks from ASOS (I’m especially obsessed with that Markus Lupfer one; memo to self to make a rub-off). I find looking at RTW clothing online a really useful way to help me decide what to sew: if I wouldn’t buy a certain style or print in RTW I know that a similar sewing project will likely not get much wear either. From my mood board I noticed several key style elements cropping up – neckline asymmetry, directional draping/pleats, waistline blousiness, digital prints – and tried to base my project on similar elements.
Juuust some little peeks at my finished dress for now! Luckily the construction went really smoothly this time. This pattern I chose is ingeniously drafted and it was incredibly fun to sew. And the fabric is just gorgeous and brilliant to work with! I’ll share a bit more about all the making process in my next post.
Perhaps you can do some detective work to figure out which Minerva fabric and Big 4 pattern I ended up using. Hint: here’s Angelina Jolie in a very similar style by the same designer…
So, I do have something to go to the ball in, even if it isn’t at all what I originally had in mind. Check back after this weekend for the reveal of the finished dress, and if you’re coming to the meetup I can’t wait to see you there. I’m so excited to shop the Minerva fabric cave in person, it’s going to be a blast.
I can’t wait to see your dress (and meet you of course! ) on Saturday. It looks gorgeous from the sneaky peeks you’ve shown here.
oh, gorgeous! can’t wait to see it!
Sorry you r dress didn’t turn out as planned. i always find I learn loads from my mistakes, so in that aspect it’s not a total waste of time. Your 2nd dreaa looks fab! hope you enjoy yourself at the minerva day x
I definitely did learn a lot!
Oooooh, another great London event! I wish I was living in London…such a great sewing community there (and looks like you have some great fabric shopping too)! Enjoy the party…looking forward to the “big reveal”.
The event is actually in the north of England this time, a bit of a trip for us Londoners!
This is going to look amazing.
That fabric looks amazing! I hope you have a lovely time!