Imperfectly beautiful: make my birthday dress with me

3 weeks ago

Hi, my fellow needleworker. I hope you all are doing great. I celebrated my birthday recently, and I'd love to share the process of making my birthday dress with this amazing community.

To be honest, I find it difficult to celebrate my birthday. My family aren't huge on celebrating birthdays and I usually don't love to celebrate my birthday because they never go right, at least that's what I thought.

However, this year I wanted something different, I wanted to have a good birthday, simple but memorable. I wasn't doing too much, I just wanted to make two nice dresses, a home photoshoot, and probably a little outing. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned.

First, my cake vendor cancelled on me last minute and I was too tired to find another. Also, Making my dress was more stressful. I was busy and I was only able to sew the dress at night.

I almost gave up on all my plans because they were falling apart, but thank God I didn't. This experience made me realize that everything doesn't have to be as planned for it to be beautiful.

As I wrote earlier, I planned to make two dresses but as life wanted it, I was able to make only one. Making this dress was fun, I could remember trying it on while sewing, and I was so happy that the outcome would be as beautiful as sketched. The bottom, however, was a little disappointing, so I had to drape the bottom to make it look more beautiful and I think that was a good idea.

Materials:
The total cost of material was pretty inexpensive. Most of the material used was left over from previous projects except the pattern fabric my mum gave me.

velvet
Pattern crepe fabric
Boning
Fusible interface
Invisible zipper
4 inches elastic band
Hook and eye
Bias tape

The process:

I wasn't able to do a full step-by-step picture so this is just a bunch of progress shots.

I draft the pattern for the upper part of the dress and cut it. I had to manage the fabric so I used less than my normal 1/2 inch sewing allowance.

I ironed the interface on all the pieces of the fabric I cut and the lining as well.
I joined all the pieces appropriately.

I sew the boning on the lining because I want the boning to be invisible.

I wanted a snatched but I didn't want to make a corset so I decided to use an “elastic band waist snatcher”. I cut the elastic 1/3 of my waist measurement with a sewing allowance and I sewed the hook and eye to it.
This is a very good alternative if you don't want a corset but want a snatched waist.

I sew the zipper and the turtle neck.

I was done with the upper bodies and I attached the bottom. I didn't like the bottom and I didn't have time to think about it or resew so I draped the bottom and I think I liked it.