Making My Own Prom Dress: Part 1

So I've decided that it's time to begin working on my prom dress.  I need the dress to be done by March because that is when the Senior Fashion Show is at my school.  At the fashion show, all of the seniors wear their prom dresses and walk down the runway.  Today I went to Jo Ann's and got the materials and the pattern for my dress.  I'm going to use McCall's 5806 and make the white dress, but in green.

At Jo Ann's I purchased a sparkly emerald green satin.  I have yet to buy the chiffon because they did not have enough at the store.  Either I will order it online or go to another Jo Ann's to purchase it.  However, my next step will be to open the pattern and figure out if I need as much as they tell me.  My budget for the entire prom is $200.

Here are some celebrity dress that I'm using for inspiration:

Along with the dress, I'm hoping to make a matching purse and a tie for my date. I bought extra fabric just for those purposes.  I have a pattern for the purse, but I'm not quite sure yet how I'm going to make the tie.  I'm thinking that perhaps I can take apart and old tie and use that as a pattern, which (hopefully!) will not be that difficult.

Mood Fabric Projects

Besides getting the fabric for Lea's dress at Mood, I also picked up this green and white floral cotton for my own use.  When I bought it, I originally did not know what I was going to do with it, but then I decided to make a skirt, which I wore a lot over the summer.  I used the same skirt pattern that I've always been using, New Look 6843.

When I finished with the skirt, I still had some leftover fabric, so I decided to make a shirt for the first time.  I bought New Look 6356, which is a really simple and basic shirt pattern.  Since it was the summertime, I made the sleeveless V-neck shirt.  The hardest part was making the point of the V in the V-neck because there was a lot of extra fabric bunching up there.  I ended up having to cut some away.

In the end, the shirt turned out really well and fits me nicely.  Sometimes I wear both items separately, but other times I wear them together so it ends up looking like a dress.  However, I've had to put these two away now until spring.  Time to make some fall/winter clothes!

Lea's Dress

Recently, I approached my friend, Lea, and told her that I wanted to make a dress for her. She said that she would like one, but it had to meet her clothing requirements. She only wears at least 3/4 length sleeves and high necklines. At first I was going to make a dress from a picture she showed me of Rachel Berry from Glee, but in the end I decided that it was better to just invest in a pattern. Ergo, I bought New Look 6000.

When I brought Lea to Mood I underestimated the amount of fabric that I would need, so I didn't have enough to make the collar or the pleated side. Luckily though, there was enough for sleeves, so I ended up making View E. I used up all the fabric, but it was a good thing that I didn't make a mistake because there was no extra.

The fabric that I made this with was a printed jersey from Mood. It was slightly difficult to work with because the edges kept on curling under. Also, I had to be careful that I didn't stretch it when I sewed or ironed it. Luckily though, since it was stretchy, that meant that there was no zipper for me to put in (yay!).

The whole thing came together pretty easily. It was my first time sewing for someone else so that was an experience. The most difficult part of that was that I couldn't fit it on her anytime that I wanted; I had to wait until we got together. I'll admit, there were some fittings done in the bathroom of Starbucks. All-in-all though I felt honored to sew for her, and hopefully I'll use the pattern for myself sometime soon! I told you sew!

Mood Fabrics

Recently, my friend and I went into New York City to visit Mood Fabrics, which is the fabric store that is frequently featured on Project Runway. I wanted to go there because I promised to make her a dress, and she had to pick out the fabric. What better place to find fabric than the Fashion District?

Mood was absolutely amazing! There were big bolts of fabric in every direction. I was literally gawking at everything like a tourist. There was so much selection of any type of fabric you could think of.

There were three floors: upholstery and then two floors of fashion fabrics. They were even relatively reasonably priced. The two fabrics that we purchased we got for $10 a yard, which is relatively what I would pay at home. (Besides the cost of the train tickets to get into the city). Mood also had a great selection of buttons and other notions.

Another great thing that I loved was seeing all the other sewers who were in there as well. It was amazing to be around people that have the same passion as I do. Overall, it was a great adventure in the city.

How to Make a Dress for Under $20

Here's a video that I made detailing how I made my latest project, a spring dress. Enjoy!

Belle Blue Dress (a.k.a. How to Save $115)

This is the first dress that I've made with the Simplicity 2588 pattern, and I really love it. The dress that I decided to make has a flared skirt and cap sleeves, which are two of the options that you can make it with. I also decided to go for the slim neckband rather than the wide yoke. This pattern has a lot of pieces that you can mix and match, so there's 12 different dresses that can be made.

Fabric-wise, I chose a navy blue gabardine. The fabric was well-suited (pun intended) to the type of dress that I wanted to make, but it was very difficult to sew with. It was very slippery, and to say that it frayed a lot would be an understatement.

In addition to the fabric, I also added some white and blue polka-dotted ribbon that I found. I sewed the ribbon twice around the hem of the skirt and once around the waistband. I like it and think that it gives the dress a 1940's retro vibe.

My dress was inspired by one that I saw on Modcloth.com. I think that their clothes are amazing, but boy are they expensive. One of the dresses that I feel in love with was this blue "On the Job" dress. Unfortunately it costs a whopping $115! Clearly, out of my budget, and out of the question. Luckily, I think that dress I made came out pretty similar. They both have the pleated bottom and cap sleeves. And what's more, I saved myself all of that money. Just another reason why I Told You Sew.

High Waisted Pencil Skirts

Recently, I had to go to a conference where professional attire was required every day. Since I really didn't own many professional outfits before the conference, I figured that I would just whip up some skirts.

I used the pattern that I've been using for all of the other skirts that I've made, New Look 6843. This time, however, I altered the pattern by making the waist band twice as wide. I did this because I knew that I would be tucking my blouses into the skirts, so I wanted it to look nicer with a thicker waist band.

As for fabric, I made the same skirt in two different fabics: black polyester with pink pinstripes and black-and-white houndstooth woolen polyester. The two fabrics are different enough that its not too obvious that they're the same skirt. I really wanted to make them in neutral colors so that they could be worn with different outfits. Since I was traveling to the conferences, I didn't want to have to pack too many clothes. These could be worn with different tops, and, honestly, no one would know the difference!

All in all, this was a great, quick project. I didn't really have much trouble except when putting in the zippers, but I'm planning on working on that as time goes on. As soon as I get pictures, I'll be posting about the newest dress that I made!

Project #4: Grey Dress

Ta da! Here it is my new favorite dress. This is the first dress that I've made from the Project Runway patterns and I absolutely love it. This dress is actually a jumper, so when I was choosing the fabric I steered clear of plaids because I didn't want it ending up looking too much like a school uniform. Instead, I opted for this grey ribbed-jersey. Because it is so stretchy, I had to use a ballpoint needle on the sewing machine and smaller stitches.

When I wear this dress, I always wear a belt, but I think that it would look fine without one too. I have two sweaters that I pair it with, one which goes over, and another which goes under. I think it looks good with either. This dress had really become my go-to outfit for the past few months, and I've worn it to so many dressy casual events.

This dress was made from the Simplicity 2848 pattern. I used the flared skirt and the rounded yoke. While making the dress, I pretty much followed the directions on the pattern. I did at some top stitching, which I thought gave it a nice "finished" look. I also added in the pockets, but I'm not really liking the way they look, so I think I might sew them up and cut them off.

I've been working on a few other projects lately, so keep an eye out for some new posts. I'll probably post on how to update old clothing next, so until then just keep sewing!