Burda Style For people who sew
Description
Well I wanted to make a top with a nice lace overlay so I chose some lace from the internet….but when it arrived what I had assumed to be a small floral repeat turned out to be rather a large floral repeat and being petite it would overwhelm me as a top…..hum!
However next day an invite to a Mad Men party arrived. Ah ha! a new use for the lace – a 60’s lace overlay shift more suitable to the larger repeat.
This is the BurdaStyle Fatina pattern without the collar, with a slightly raised neckline, and widened at the shoulders for a more 60s Mod feel. I also added back darts, and for the first time ever made a muslin, which helped imensly with fitting – I did not want to work out fit with lace overlay and wanted to get the length right so I could position the scallops at the bottom of the hem correctly when cutting my lace fabric.
Biggest challenge was that I only had 1 yard of the lace so some creative piecing together of parts had to be undertaken – the dress back is made in 3 parts with seams at the yoke and hips (and if you look carefully one of those panels had to be cut upside down) – I literally had just scraps of fabric left after cutting out.
The lace is over and attached to a stretch charmeuse under layer – working that out was interesting. I think what I did worked OK, certainly for a one off party piece….
…..but right about when I’d finished I found Sherrys wonderful Emerald Dress and FABULOUS instructions at her blog Pattern – Scissors – Cloth – if you want to make a lace overlay anything – read her blog post first ……Shows you how to underline your fabric, lace in my case – something I’d never heard of but realized the benefits of after having muddled my way through without an underlining. It basically allows you to treat the lace and underlay as one piece of fabric and boy do I wish I’d found her blog first!
Anyway dress was a hit and I think I managed to carry off a 60’s-esq look – thanks to shangrow for pointing me to the hair tutorial via her lovely Grace Kelly Halloween ensemble. I am wearing more hairspray here than I have in the previous 10 years!
and lastly but not by any means least thanks to Angela Kane for her excellent invisible zip videos – first invisible zip went in first time with her great and clear instructions!!
Material Notes
Green lace over purple stretch poly satin charmeuse
Difficulty
Intermediate
Categories
Credits
- Photo credits to Drew Altizer Photography (minus the one that is obviously mine in bad light)
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Aug 24, 2012, 04.58 PMby Jodi Wade
Great outfits!
1 Reply
Aug 27, 2012, 08.32 PMby smallone
Thanks Jodi!!
Jul 31, 2012, 08.40 AMby saxsilverain
you both look perfect! your dress look like an original dress from the 60s, and along with all the items you wore & your hairdo, you look like you just stepped out of a 60s TV show ;)
2 Replies
Aug 27, 2012, 08.32 PMby smallone
thanks really enjoyed putting this together a ton of fun!
Aug 27, 2012, 08.32 PMby smallone
thanks really enjoyed putting this together a ton of fun!
Feb 13, 2012, 09.54 PMby emilykate
You guys look great! I love your dress and your whole look is perfect.
1 Reply
Feb 13, 2012, 11.50 PMby smallone
Hey thanks! yeah it was super fun to put this together.
Sep 24, 2011, 05.42 PMby anniemm
gorgeous fabric and a great dress
Aug 16, 2011, 10.21 PMby sigrid
Perfect !
Aug 16, 2011, 02.07 AMby The Tropical Sewist
You nailed it! That lace is perfect for the dress, good call. And you really looked the part – was there a prize for best-dressed?
1 Reply
Aug 18, 2011, 05.25 AMby smallone
no prize …just the prize of a very fun evening :)
Jul 13, 2011, 07.49 AMby Rikamekko
Beautiful dress!
Mar 28, 2011, 08.15 PMby FEDRA
I like the dress and shoes too! excellent combination!
Mar 14, 2011, 03.57 AMby rifka
Great dress! You couldn’t of picked a better way to style this lace. Extra bonus points for finding a handbag to match too!
Mar 12, 2011, 03.53 AMby Testosterone
The ’doo, the color and print, the overlay, the handbag, that neat and trim gent (what a prop!), and of course those cocktails!
smallone, I could see you driving up to the party in a DeSoto you know he’s going to trade in for that new Javelin AMC is about to come out with.
Did you bring rumaki, or a jello mold? Or maybe a bottle of chianti for the host and hostess?
Looks like the evening was all yours!
1 Reply
Mar 12, 2011, 07.03 PMby smallone
Yes thanks Etsy vintage for the jewels, handbag, and men’s vintage sports jacket – the man is my own ;) Unfortunately we arrived in my 2008 Subaru Outback but were able to secret it around a corner.