Floral Silk Dress

I finally finished my floral silk dress that I was starting to make in March. It took me a long time to finish because I was ill and low sewjo after I recovered. I'm glad after four months of waiting, this dress is finished and I'm happy with the result. I hope I will wear it for dinner out when the lockdown ends. 

Four months ago, I was planning to make a silk dress for my entry to Sew Recreate The Look, a challenge on Instagram hosted by Jen and Sharlene. My plan was to recreate a summer v-neck dress with piping detail by Alexander McQuenn. I made a flat sketch as shown below, but in the end, I omitted the flounce at the hemline because I think the dress will suit me better without it. My fabric choice was printed silk charmeuse and silk satin for the lining, I also used black drapey fabric for the bias tape piping. I posted my inspiration and plan here and here.

I used a self-drafted pattern for the dress and modified my basic dress sloper into a v-neck high waist dress with a flare skirt and piping detail at the front bodice, waistline and back neckline. 

Before I cut and messed up the beautiful silk charmeuse fabric, I decided to make a wearable muslin using drapey cotton blend fabric and posted it on my IG here. The wearable muslin dress has four pieces skirt pattern ( I followed my inspiration and plan) but it didn't work and it made the skirt bulk. So, I changed the skirt design into a simple two pieces flare skirt and insert the piping on the bodices only.

Here is the look of my pattern pieces.

As usual, working with silk fabric wasn't easy. I basted the fabric before sewing and attached the bias tape piping carefully to the fabric. The progress was a little complicated and time-consuming and actually, it wasn't a good idea to sew when in low sewjo but I'm glad I did and happy with the result.

I tried the dress as soon as I finished (except to sew the hemline) and the dress was too long for my liking, so I reduced the length by 3 cm for the printed fabric and 6 cm for the lining. After that, I stitched the hemline using a narrow hem-stitching as shown in the picture below.

And here are the pictures of the finished dress on my dress form and on me. I love the dress, the design and the fit.

I think that is enough for today, I'm feeling good that my sewjo is back and I will continue finishing my UFOs and then I will be making a new project.

We are still in lockdown and I use the opportunity to sew and knit more. Stay safe and happy sewing 💗