You know I always encourage you to use your commercial patterns as a stimulus for your own creations. And that's exactly what one SFD customer did. Enter Nadine who used New Look 6243 for her basic dress inspiration. She had an upcoming wedding and wanted a special dress for the event. Here she is. Doesn't she just look lovely in it?
I'd worked with Nadine over the previous months to make sure her bodice was fitting her to perfection. And now the wedding was getting closer. It was time to choose the fabric and go for it. Here's what she did to her SFD bodice pattern.
For the sheer neck/shoulder piece, she simply sliced off her SFD bodice in mid-armscye on both front and back.
Then with the remaining lower bodice, the bust dart got transferred into a princess line style. The bodice back was also shaped with a princess line.
She drafted a half-circle skirt and made sure the waist lines on bodice and skirt matched.
All these beads...yes, she lovingly stitched each one on individually. Nadine used 3 different kinds of glass bugle beads...dark plum, abalone and amethyst. They added just the right amount of 'bling' without being too showy.
Her fabric choice was the Casa line (from Jo Ann) in poly crepe with a poly chiffon for the sheer yoke all in a beautiful eggplant color which looks so lovely on Nadine. Of course she made the matching wrap in Casa satin.
She's gained so much confidence in following through with this entire project. And in her words, 'I am sooooo happy! I've been smocking and sewing formal dresses for all my daughters, but now to add in the ability to fit myself...my dream come true!
I'm sure Nadine would love to hear your comments. You truly have done a lovely ensemble that you should be so proud of!
Thanks so much for sharing with all our SFD sewists.
Glenda...the Good Stitch!
For the sheer neck/shoulder piece, she simply sliced off her SFD bodice in mid-armscye on both front and back.
She drafted a half-circle skirt and made sure the waist lines on bodice and skirt matched.
All these beads...yes, she lovingly stitched each one on individually. Nadine used 3 different kinds of glass bugle beads...dark plum, abalone and amethyst. They added just the right amount of 'bling' without being too showy.
Her fabric choice was the Casa line (from Jo Ann) in poly crepe with a poly chiffon for the sheer yoke all in a beautiful eggplant color which looks so lovely on Nadine. Of course she made the matching wrap in Casa satin.
I'm sure Nadine would love to hear your comments. You truly have done a lovely ensemble that you should be so proud of!
Thanks so much for sharing with all our SFD sewists.
Glenda...the Good Stitch!
Glenda and Nadine, What a result! Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteLovely! Well done.
ReplyDeleteFabulous! Well done.
ReplyDeleteGee, that's pretty! I'm so glad she shared the pictures, for now I have some new ideas to try out. Thank you. Nadine, you look sensational.
ReplyDeleteIs switching from side darts to princess seams difficult?
Changing the side seam bust dart to the princess line really is an easy process. In fact, it ultimately fits so well because the curve of the princess seam goes directly over your fullest bust point, that I often recommend drawing a separate body blueprint just of this design option so that you can re-use it. Directions are found in the Dress Kit Instruction book - pg 32. And you'll see a free Princess Line video series on this page - http://www.sfdlearningcenter.com/Video_Library.html and on the playlist at YouTube.com/surefitdesigns channel
DeleteGreat job, Nadine! I love the sheer shoulders look, it's one I'd like to try eventually. The bugle bead "piping" is clever.
ReplyDeleteGood job! What a perfect and beautiful dress! You look amazing! Greetings from Norway :)
ReplyDeleteOh wow! Thank you sew much for all of the kind comments! Like Glenda said, it is really easy to move the dart to a princess seam. In fact modifying my blueprint was the easiest part of this project. Sewing the neat, stabilized seams on the sheer yoke was probably the most tricky part for me. Looking forward to starting a new project now, maybe from Beyond Basic Bodices. I would love to see what everyone else is doing with their SFD kits!
ReplyDeleteNadine, what a lovely dress! Thank you for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Glenda & Nadine, I am interested to read all about the things that can be done with SFD. I actually have already purchased the dress/shirt/pant kits but have not been quite successful in my projects. The dress really looks fabulous on Nadine. I would like to know if the first row of the beading on the lower part of the dress is actually on the waistline. Then the second row is on the top part of skirt skirt.
ReplyDeleteHello Micheline!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the compliment on my dress! I drafted the dress with a midriff piece. The midriff was cut off the bottom of the bodice. So the first row of beading is above my waistline. The beading at the lower part of the midriff would be my waistline and where I attached the half circle skirt. I also added piping to the midriff pieces to make a nice bed for the beads to sit in. I hope that helps you.