A (comfy) GLAMOUR Dress

Oh HAI!

Excuse me while I blow the cobwebs off 'ye olden blog'; it has been a while ...

... so let me quickly side track you with my latest creation. Look, it's a dress!

I also recently made an insanely loveable little (huge) baby boy. Scroll down to the bottom of this post if you want to make your ovaries ache.

Back in August Kat from All The Whimsical Things hosted another Frocktails in Melbourne, which gave me the motivation to get out the sewing machine and transform myself from milk machine (do you know how much a 9 pounder DRINKS??!!!!) to glamour puss. Goals.

Because having a toddler and a newborn gives me heaps of spare time *cough* I decided to draft my own dress and make it the day before the event. Why do people let me make decisions for myself? Don't they see that crazed sleep-deprived look in my eye?

Luckily, it worked out! It was a pretty simple dress after all, but it's always the simple ones that end up messing you up! AmIright?!!

DETAILS:

Fabric

I made this out of a cheap stretch that I bought from Spotlight. Ashley was less than 3 months old at the time and I was still in that crazy period where I couldn't bear to drive more than 5 minutes to get to a decent fabric store.

It's not perfect but it still worked, though next time I make this I'll use a fabric with a bit more stretch.

Pattern

Self drafted. I wanted a long skirt with a wide neck and I wanted it in a comfortable stretch. Plus stretch is so much faster to sew. No darts, lots of room for error and finishing seams is optional.

The skirt is split at the front with rushing near the waistline.

The pattern making took the bulk of the time, but once I had cut out the fabric it only took a few hours to put together. It felt so good to get behind the machine again!

Extra Bits

I completely faced the bodice in the same fabric to give extra support.

I also attached a strip of thin elastic along the entire width of the neck to stop it from gaping or moving. I made the length of the elastic shorter than the circumference of the neck so that it pulled in a little.

I can pretend that I dress fancy all the time, but a sports bra tan line doesn't lie ...

I had a lovely night chatting with like-minded seamstresses, some people I had met before and some for the first time. It was so nice to get dressed up and talk about sewing!

And now if you'll indulge me, here's my latest human creation:

Meet Ashley Michelangelo, my little angel baby born May 11.  Ashley is named after my father, Michelangelo.
This little beach ball of cuteness was born 13 days over due and within 30 minutes of me arriving at the hospital! All 9 lbs of him! It was an incredible, beautiful birth experience and I still get goose bumps thinking about it. My mum, who drove me to the hospital thinks she is suffering post traumatic stress at the thought that we almost had a 'side of the road' birth.

It's good to be back guys! I've got some great projects lined up and I can't wait to get stuck into them!

Also excuse me dear internet, BUT WHY IS THERE NO SEWING MACHINE EMOJI?!!! I cannot adequately convey my sewing emotions without a cute little picture of a sewing machine. Who do I need to contact to make this happen?

Hope you are all having a lovely fabric filled week :)