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| Finished Project: Halloween Dress & Sparkly Heels! Coming soon in technicolor :D |
Ehhhhhhh sexy lady! Psy is touring Australia right now and his appearances are all over TV as well his very catchy song Gangnam Style which I have to admit I really love! Hahaha. Have to learn that dance!!
From Gangnam to Gingham, here is my latest handmade dress.
It's my take on Dorothy Gale's dress from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
The pattern I have 'hacked' to make the bodice is my trusty old V8469.
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Modifications made to the V8469 bodice:
- Lengthened the midriff band by 1" to avoid that dreaded babydoll look - I only realised yesterday that this bodice is not long enough... yes, I have made this bodice many times and didn't realise, don't even ask...
- Used the front midriff band as the back midriff band so midriff band is same all the way round. The original pattern has the back midriff band dipping down, which I do not like!
- After a lot of paying around, I trimmed off some of the back bodice piece to ensure the back seam does not 'dip' at the centre. Those that have made V8469 will know what I am referring to.
- Side seam allowance - I had the fabric right next to the foot... 1cm?! Help.
- Raised the front neck so it is more of a boat neck.
- Scooped back :D
- Instead of the gathering under the bust, I have 'box pleated' the excess fabric instead.
I know my dress does not look exactly like Dorothy's dress (or apron??) but neither do the sexy ones on eBay :P
Her dress has a pinafore or apron-like thing and has sleeves and certainly does not have a scooped back!
When it comes to dressing up, I like to be subtle so I don't look too costume-y. If only gingham was in style, I would wear this dress everywhere!
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I didn't use the skirt from the V8469, instead I replaced it with a short-full-pleated-gathered-skirt.
I cut two rectangles that were 17" long (SA included in that) but instead of gathering it like I usually do, I pleated it. I eyeballed the whole thing, each pleat was about 1". No pressure for perfection cos it's only a costume after all :)
I didn't worry about matching the little squares up, but hey there's a bit of a chevron happening at the side midriff!
I used white poplin for the bodice and lining. The skirt and midriff band is cotton gingham.
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I french seamed for the first time. Wow I can't believe how easy it is and the result is amazing! I french seamed the side and back seams of the skirt. Once I worked out the 'fractions' component of it (5/8" 1/8" blah blah), it was a breeze. I wish I had learned this technique earlier.
I had some gingham cotton left over so I made ties to wear on my hair.
Summary: Dorothy Gale inspired dress/Halloween Costume aka wearable muslin.
Pattern:
- Bodice: V8469 with many, many modifications to it
- Skirt: Self drafted
Size: 6
Fabric:
- 1.2m cotton gingham (skirt and midriff band) $4/m
- 1.5m top pop poplin cotton (bodice and lining) $3/m
Techniques: French seams :D
Hours: 6 hours on a Friday. Easy, relaxing project.
Will you make it again? Yep!!! Not the costume, but will be making this dress again. The fit is great, I am wearing it as I blog (to test fitting). I will be making one for my awards night coming up in 3 weeks.
Total cost: $10!
$10 for a Halloween costume is a bargain!! But it's not about saving dollars, I actually really, really enjoy making my own costume rather than ordering some lingerie outfit from eBay, plus it gives me the opportunity to try out new patterns (like I did with New Look 6723) and hack up some TNT patterns.
I have also made my own pair of sparkly red shoes to go with my dress.
You need:
- Shoes
- PVA glue, that's what we use in Australia.. it's white and dries clear
- 50grams glitter
- Pot and brush - I used a hair dying kit
I simply mixed some glitter with PVA glue and painted it over the shoe.
If you want to be neat, you can tape off sections of the shoe you don't want spillage on. I didn't bother.
I painted two coats (letting dry in between) then left it to dry over night.
I just applied the third coat today and have sprinkled the remaining glitter over the wet PVA glue.
Make sure you use a glue that dries CLEAR!
I'll let it dry over night and tomorrow I'll shake all the glitter off.
It better not rain next Saturday cos I think the glue is not waterproof :/
Total cost of glue and glitter: $8.
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Halloween is not big in Australia, but over the last few years I have noticed more and more people embracing the day. I love to dress up so I am excited that friends hold Halloween Parties and night clubs have events to celebrate it.
I'll leave you with some photos from Halloween 2011. I dressed up as a zombie school girl - costume from eBay. I wasn't skilled enough to make something myself. I did take the side seams in on my shirt though :)
If you haven't got your costume sorted yet, maybe you can get some inspiration from these pics.. my friends are a funny bunch.
Are you ready for Halloween? What will you be dressing up as???
