Two frosting frocks

I’m a million miles late joining the fun #sewfrosting challenge started by Heather and Kelli before Christmas, but I finally got around to photographing two fancy dresses I’ve made in the last couple of months, both of which have been successfully party-tested already.

First up a jazzy dress I wore for my birthday party last weekend. I bought this amazing outer space embroidered tulle from Stonemountain & Daughter last year (it still seems to be in stock!). It cost me an absolute fortune in shipping and custom fees but luckily it was worth it. I only got 1.5yds so had to do some very careful cutting to get the midi length dress I wanted with decent pattern placement. I had basically zero scraps and the shoulders with no embroidery are eating riiiiight into the selvedge, heh.

I wanted a dead simple pattern and used this Stoff & Stil pattern that I threw in out of curiosity in a recent fabric order. They have an awesome range of patterns for cheap prices in very cool, wearable styles. They come single size, and unusually come pre-cut in whole (non-halved) pieces and made out of a lightweight fabric-like material. I imagine you could tissue-fit the flat pattern with pins very easily prior to cutting. I liked working with the pattern a lot, the grippy fabric pieces made cutting really easy and the nice big bellows envelope makes it easy to re-store the pieces.

I had to adjust the fit as the size that fitted my hips was way too big on the shoulders and chest, so I sliced down from mid-shoulder to hem and overlapped the pieces, tapering to less as I went down. Otherwise the fit is great and will likely become a TNT for simple tee dress shapes.

I thought carefully about seam and hem finishes in this very transparent tulle. I tested French seams but they looked pretty horrible, so in the end decided to overlock then press and topstitch down to one side. Similarly for the neckline and sleeve hems I overlocked the raw edge, finger-pressed it back twice and topstitched. The hem is still raw! I confess I was finishing the dress five minutes before I got out the door for my party but hey, sometimes fuss-free (non)finishes are the best and who’s looking that closely when you’re covered in sparkly planets and stars.

The transparency also necessitated an under-layer which I hadn’t really considered; in a pinch I wore an Inari knit dress I made a while ago. It’s not ideal as it’s looser fit and the ties add some bulk, so at some point I’ll make a simple close-fitted tee dress to wear underneath.

Here’s the dress looking cool under a blacklight in a bar, and doing some serious karaoke, my two preferred birthday activities.

I used the same pattern before Christmas to make a mini dress for my company’s Christmas party. It had a ‘red, green and/or sparkly’ dress theme so this excellent snake-y sequin fabric I bought a year or so ago (also from S&S but sold out now) was perfect. It is also quite sheer so I’m wearing a black Ogden cami slip I made a while ago underneath.

This was my very first time working with sequins, but luckily it was a gentle introduction! Crucially the sequins are pliable enough that they could be cut and sewn straight through, no need to remove them from the seam allowances. I finished the neckline with purchased black bias tape facing, which I handsewed down – stitching into the mesh means the sequins cover it and it looks invisible. The other hems are rather shamefully just overlocked and left plain. I tried the same bias finish on one of the sleeves but it made it flute out weirdly, and actually I like the weightless look and near-invisible finish of the black overlocking.

The great thing is this simple tee shape is so comfortable and forgettable to wear, but the fancy fabrics make them still feel special. That’s ideal frosting for me!

5 thoughts on “Two frosting frocks

  1. PsychicSewerKathleen

    I love both your dresses! I saw an embroidered tulle recently and thought a similar thought… making the tulle up as the outer dress (tee shirt dress pattern I hadn’t thought about so thank you for that!) and wearing a slip underneath. I never got around to but I also hadn’t seen just the right sort of embroidery (mostly flowers which isn’t so much my thing :) ) but celestial! I couldn’t have resisted :) Thank you for posting your thoughts – you are so right! frosting needn’t be about the pattern but really ALL about the fabric and whatever you do make it comfortable because when you’re partying with your friends, the last thing you want to be fussed about is your dress!

  2. Lesley Scott

    Oh goodness, that’s some awesome frosting you have there. I always feel a mix of fear and relief with just a small dose of smug when I manage to eek out a garment from too little fabric! You too by the sounds of it – excellent sewing! X

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