Burda Style For people who sew
Darling Bjork-vote for me on AA.com!
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Description
Alright! I know some of you have been waiting a while to see the final outcome of my project, but no one has been as anxious as I have to get it all together and looking good, et voila! The swan dress!
This has taken me 5 weeks to make, 3 yards of charmeuse, chiffon, muslin, linen, organza, and some old American Apparel tshirts, half a feather boa, alot of hot glue, a spool of cotton thread, polyester fiberfill, floral wire, a zipper, and some more feathers for the swan head.
This has been the most time consuming and difficult project I have taken on since the Breast Nest last fall and for good reason:
1) created a basic bodice front with skirt, trimmed the front to cover half my form’s chest
2) next I began to attach the ruffles, 33 rows in alternating knife pleat patterns on the front and back of skirt and bodice (all but 2 rows were stitched by hand while watching my love Dexter)
3) seamed front and back skirt pieces to fit my size
4) added zipper on the right side
5) began to attach feathers by cutting them off boa, and hot glueing them one by one onto each layer of ruffles to add body and fluff
6)I eventually made 3 swan necks before I got the right shape and size for my neck and chest
7)hot glued feathers to the neck and created the swan face out of a few feathers left over from another project(i dont love the swan head, but i did the best with what i had!)
So in all I really love this dress, its so warm to be so scandalous, and I would like an egg to bring but I just dont feel like sewing anything else for this! I am so glad I finally knocked this project out, I have been in love with the design for years and Bjork is my alltime favorite singer with the most creative style and music. Hopefully Halloween will be unseasonably warm this year or I will have to wear my pea coat with it, not bad but it won’t be as “shazam!”.
All I have left to do is draw Bjork’s compass tattoo on the arm of by bodysuit, take in the zipper a bit so that it will be very high-waisted, and style my wig a bit more. and practice that awesome accent while rambling about putting nickels in my stove and whatnot…
If you love this pleeeease stop by AmericanApparel.com and vote for me! Thank you!
Material Notes
No pattern was used to make this, it was all guesstimated at a larger size and taken in to fit me best. Yet I do have to thank my grandmother Eudora for donating all of the fabric used! It saddens me that she has decided to cease her sewing career, but it makes me very happy that she is passing on all of her knowledge and fabric to me! In all my costume has cost me $25 dollars, I have only had to buy a feather boa, wig, thread, and bodysuit!
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18 Comments
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Nov 5, 2009, 04.49 AMby Pink-Cornelia
fantastic!! look really fun to wear . fantastic job.
Oct 29, 2009, 12.36 PMby stephiaffi
Very impressive! You should post another photo with the finished Björk-look or even better a video with the Björk-accent and all…:) have a happy halloween and a fun party…I’m sure you’ll be the star!
Oct 22, 2009, 11.54 PMby Jeffrey
wonderful wonderful!!!
Oct 22, 2009, 08.22 PMby hellagabrielle
AHH! So awesome!!
Oct 22, 2009, 01.03 PMby Almatinka
That is very unique and you should get the best prizes in all the competitions you enter just for the sheer devotion involved if not for the wonderful dress itself!!! Wonderful job!!!
Oct 22, 2009, 04.00 AMby Mia007
Soooooo good! Hahah! It’s awesome, congrats!
Oct 22, 2009, 02.08 AMby camilaustral
i didn’t understand exactly how to vote just for you, it opens a random costume to rate and i don’t want to rate them all!
1 Reply
Oct 22, 2009, 03.09 PMby ashchaser
Yeah I really don’t understand why they set the sit up like that! I try to click on the number one contestant and just vote until I get to mine-You’d think a huge site like American Apparel would have thought of a better way to work that out eh?
Oct 22, 2009, 01.36 AMby camilaustral
i’m sooooo voting for you!! i really like bjork and i LOVE the dresses that she wears, i also like the one that looks like a pink paper ornament (i have no idea how to call them in english… and apparently i forgot the word in spanish too xD)
love it!
Oct 21, 2009, 05.47 PMby saxsilverain
gasp ♥♥ i just absolutely adore that dress. great halloween costume idea & the outcome looks perfect!! you did a great job!
Oct 21, 2009, 05.09 PMby chelsesaurus.rex
I am so freaking proud of you for doing this! It turned out perfect. I love that you sewed while watching Dexter!
Oct 21, 2009, 05.02 PMby seasidelaundry
Kind of you to credit Bjork (and we love her) but, you really have your own thing going very well. Worth all your efforts, it is beautiful! Think some of your regional music artists should be contacting you.
Oct 21, 2009, 04.11 PMby lizah
wow I love it!!
Oct 21, 2009, 03.03 PMby Alden
LOVE IT!
Oct 21, 2009, 01.09 PMby ana555
i remember seeing bjork in that dress. it looks great on you! she is very unique. do you remember that video were she is being chased by that giant teddy bear? i think it was a teddy, it has been so long since i seen it. you did an amazing job on recreating the dress! i love it!
Oct 21, 2009, 01.07 PMby ashchaser
I might make a bag if I have the time in the next 2 weeks, I will definitely need something to carry my camera in!
Oct 21, 2009, 06.01 AMby Mishler
wow that is a really unique costume idea and you pull it off really well :) are you gonna do the egg handbag as well?
Oct 20, 2009, 11.22 PMby Lunatepetal
whoa! aweosme!!
I am sure you will get a lot of attention and complements :)
happy halloween!
Oct 20, 2009, 11.07 PMby kosmika
WOW! :) that’s amazing… you did it!!! even the swan head it’s not bad at all! you look great and you did a wonderful job, congrats! (and… I just adore Bjork… ehm :) )