r/sewing
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u/little_so_and_sew
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Jun 19 '22
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My work was having a ball, so I designed and made my wife a ball gown [self drafted/draped] Project: FO
She won a "best dressed" award!
This photo doesn't do it justice, but the fit across the back was soooo clean
Hand stitched finish on the inside of the concealed zip
my second ever concealed zip, but my first concealed zip in polyester satin
practising the interior hand stitching on the toile
I did a full circle skirt, but I aligned the seams with those on the bodice, so I had to calculate the correct angle for each piece individually.
I used tailors mark stitching on the bodice
Learning how to put in a concealed zip on the toile
The pattern I made next to the bodice for the toile
Some of the pleats were curved, so I used a punch to enable me to transfer those curves with reasonable accuracy.
The brown paper shows the shape I thought I would need at the beginning of the draping process, the cotton shows how it ended up.
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u/anjschuyler Jun 19 '22
Oh my god! Oh my god!!! She looks amazing! You can see the love & care you have for your wife! Of course she win best dressed, look at her!
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u/RickardHenryLee Jun 19 '22
Amazing work, and I love that you just jumped in to such a huge project and just figured it all out as you went along. I love the fearlessness! The pleats on the bodice are amazing, and the hand stitched zipper is gorgeous. Well done on all the darts, and making all that hand stitching look good in poly satin!
You are totally ready for silk satin for the next ball (it'll probably be easier!), I hope you'll share with us again 😍
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Thank you very much! I figured worst comes to worst, we just have to buy a dress at the last minute. It was worth having a go.
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u/Any-Guest3014 Jun 19 '22
Beautiful and what a lucky wife!
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u/TheOrganizingWonder Jun 19 '22
Amazing! What do you usually sew? Gorgeous dress, you are very talented. I wish all of my first attempts were as good as yours!
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Thank you! So far I've just made clothes for myself; a shirt and a few pairs of trousers.
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22 edited Jun 19 '22
Last night we had a ball for my work place, which of course meant that my wife needed a ball gown. Somehow, providing said ball gown became my job. In order to get the level of fit I felt she deserved, I decided (rightly or wrongly) to design and draft/drape a dress of my own. My darling wife was very patient with me through this process.
This is the first dress I've ever made, so it was very much a learning experience. Plenty of mistakes were made (and very effectively hidden). Even so, I'm very happy with how it turned out, and she won a "best dressed" award!
I used the navy blue polyester satin from Minerva, which is a very unforgiving fabric and frays to nothing if you look at it funny. I bought a cheap walking foot to see if it would help. Learn from my mistakes, don't buy a cheap one.
Plenty of firsts in this one. First making something for someone else. First garment for a woman. First dress of any kind. First concealed zip. First circle skirt. First rolled hem. First time using polyester satin. First time using a walking foot.
All in all, quite chuffed.
Edit in response to mod: I did not use any particular system to draft the dress. I just took body measurements and figured it out as I went along. I'm sorry that I can't give a more useful response than that.
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u/goldenhawkes Jun 19 '22
Your first dress!? Self drafted!? In satin! What an undertaking! It’s fab!
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u/phanfare Jun 19 '22
I want to see the reactions when asked where she got the dress. "My husband made it" is probably the last answer they'd expect
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u/CactusBiszh2019 Jun 19 '22
How long did this process take you, approximately?
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Honestly couldn't say. I've been working on it as and when I could during evenings and weekends, but we're also in the process of moving house, so it's all kind of blurred into one.
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u/CactusBiszh2019 Jun 19 '22
Love your dedication to seeing the project through, even in your spare time. Did you start months beforehand?
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
In terms of the design and toile, I probably started about three months ago. The finished dress I probably started about two months ago. If memory serves.
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u/Lalalalolawants Jun 19 '22
Great job on this! Fray away or a lighter can help with the fraying edges (as can french seams)
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 20 '22
Thank you! Yes, part-way through, when I realised how bad the fraying was, I used a product called fray stop. It would've been far better to use it at the beginning, but it made it possible to finish.
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u/lostknight0727 Jun 19 '22
I didn't see any pockets, why does no one put pockets?(more of a meme than a question) How hard is it to put a hidden pocket in the folds of the skirt/dress?(legit question)
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
I thought about adding pockets, but I decided not to add to the challenge. I only just finished sewing it together three hours before the ball, even without pockets.
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u/FamiliarWin4833 Jun 19 '22
Your wife is gorgeous, the dress is gorgeous & you have nice hands sir.
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u/ruddsix Jun 19 '22
Sir you’re setting husband bar very high. I really hope I can find a guy willing to Olympic pole jump for me
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u/Fraise49 Jun 19 '22
Such a sweet gesture for your wife. It came out amazing!
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Thank you! I'm happy with it and she totally deserves all of the sweet gestures.
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u/Charming-Series5166 Jun 19 '22
That is such a wonderful fit! I'm so impressed. Great dress!
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Thank you! I appreciate the compliments. I tried hard to get a good fit.
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u/-E-Cross Jun 19 '22
The smile on her face says it all. Fantastic work
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u/ItsNotSherbert Jun 19 '22
Love it. Question: did you ever consider pockets?
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
I always consider pockets. On this occasion, I chose not to add them. I barely finished in time as it was.
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u/electricbluecedar Jun 19 '22
This was an absolute delight of a post. Love the behind the scenes looks and your commentary on them. Great job - it looks like it fits her beautifully!
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Thank you. I do like to show at least some of the process. There's so much that goes into a finished garment.
I am very happy with how well it fit.
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u/BuddhistNudist987 Jun 19 '22
Beautiful, and such a pretty color! I bet she was so happy, I would be!
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u/the_argonath Jun 19 '22
What's the math under the dress?
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Nothing special. Just practising various methods of analysis for variable loading on a surface.
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Jun 19 '22
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/fabricwench Jun 19 '22
Your comment was removed for the following reason:
- Don't be inappropriate We like our users to feel comfortable sharing their images/projects without getting hit on or judged. They are here to talk about their sewing-related projects, not about their general looks or attractiveness. Complimenting OP on their project is fine, but commenting on other aspects of their appearance or making sexualized comments, no matter how well-intentioned, is considered inappropriate in this subreddit.
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u/Austiny1 Jun 19 '22
So jealous of people with these types of skills and patience…great job
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
I think I have more persistence than patience... As for the skills, I think anyone is capable of learning, if they want to.
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u/TexasGROMMY Jun 19 '22
As an engineer you know the Cardinal rule is NEVER buy cheap tools. Even walking feet.
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u/plainoverplight Jun 19 '22
that best dressed award must’ve felt super satisfying for you!!! awesome job!
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u/Pennysews Jun 19 '22
Wow, she looks beautiful! Great job, I bet she loved it so much. I’m really enjoying these male-perspective sewing posts, we have some talented fellows on here.
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Thank you! She loved it very much. She says she felt elegantly beautiful.
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u/Iamareddirtgirl Jun 19 '22
Wow, she looks amazing. You are your wife’s Prince Charming and fairy godmother rolled into one. Wishing you the best happily ever after.
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u/rumbellina Jun 19 '22
Very well executed!! That’s a challenging fabric to work with and you did it very well!
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Thank you! I agree, it was very challenging (much swearing). I did not choose the fabric.
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u/Melardhoniel Jun 19 '22
Amazing fit and such a great job on the gown! I really dont want to be offend you since you did such an amzing job and maybe its a taste thing but a V shaped back rather than a full coverage back would be more flattering to the beautiful front. Please post more creations, id love to see it!
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u/theyreall_throwaways Jun 19 '22
Wow, she def deserves best dressed! That dress is amazing; but I'm sure having a beautiful model helps.
I couldn't imagine takin on this project, but everything turned out so perfect. I hope she gets to wear it many more times, even if it's just to the grocery store. She looks too amazing in it too leave it hanging. Congrats to both of you.
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u/Ok_Yogurtcloset9728 Jun 19 '22
Wow, just lovely. The draping of the fabric is beautiful. Well done!
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u/For_The_Sail_Of_It Jun 19 '22
Amazing job! Especially for all those firsts. The dress and your wife look flawless.
I’m stumped about what the pattern piece is in the last few photos. Are there seems at the shoulder or not?
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Thank you!
No there aren't any seams at the shoulder. It's double layered, by which I mean it's lined with the same fabric. After stay stitching everything, I sewed the two layers together along the edge from centre back to centre front and around the armhole.
Then I fed everything through the shoulder, kind of like bagging it out. That way there's no seam at the shoulder and it sits smoothly.
That's why I had to drape it, so that the fit was good enough that it wouldn't require adjusting at the shoulder. I had to adjust the pattern a couple of times.
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u/Disney_Plus_Axolotls Jun 19 '22
This is gorgeous! It fits so nicely on her! You deserve an award for doing something your wife didn’t ask you to do. Bravo👏🏼👏🏼
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u/ItsHuji Jun 19 '22
That's incredible!! It looks so professional and well-fitted, rightfully won best dressed, well done!
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u/5nitch Jun 19 '22
Wow
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Thanks!
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u/5nitch Jun 19 '22
I’m not surprised I read in your comments you did some carpentry, your pattern making and attention to detail is something to be very admired. I hope you and your wife are proud of this beautiful dress, you are very skilled with your hands and patient!
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u/huffcat Jun 19 '22
“All in all, quite chuffed “ Have you ever been a contestant on the Great British sewing bee? (You should apply😊)
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
I have not been. Thank you for the compliment. I have no intention of applying, I don't think my blood pressure would survive the time pressure.
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u/guacamoletango Jun 19 '22
Amazing sewing! Were your colleagues surprised that you sewed her dress yourself?
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u/MamasSweetPickels Jun 19 '22
The dress is gorgeous. You wife is a lucky woman to have a talented spouse.
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u/celeloriel Jun 20 '22
This is amazing. What beautiful & detailed work. I too just made my first circle skirt (cotton, not satin) and hemming it was one heck of a learning experience, for sure.
Thank you so much for posting this - she looks lovely, and it’s so encouraging to my own sewing journey.
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u/ccc2801 Jun 20 '22
I hear they’re looking for new applicants for The Great British Sewing Bee for next season; you should definitely sign up! Amazing dress and your wife looks both classy and sexy in it.
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 20 '22
Haha, thank you. I won't be applying, but I thank you for the compliment.
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u/nyleveper Jun 20 '22
There aren’t many dresses with that much cleavage and a full back. I love it!!! 🤩
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u/Snoo33903 Jun 19 '22
That is gorgeous! And fits her perfectly. It is so flattering to her figure.
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u/little_so_and_sew Jun 19 '22
Thank you! I really wanted to give her something that finally fit her in a way that's flattering. I'm really glad I managed to hit the mark.
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u/TheWholePenetrator Jun 19 '22
Did she spin when she entered the ball? Or was that just a seinfeld thing.
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u/Puchaopopper Jun 19 '22
I’m just imaging you being an oil field worker and telling your coworkers you sewed a ball gown for your wife