So after unthinkable trials and tribulations, I can finally let out a sigh of relief and say I've completed my first dress. Ever. And man, I am so proud of it.
It's like giving birth. It doesn't matter if your baby is all wrinkly and red just moments after you've pushed it out of your uterus, once you hold him/her in your arms, you'll think your baby is the most beautiful you have ever seen and perfect as it is.
Okay enough with the epiphany I guess.
The dress is not perfect, of course. There is tons of room for improvement and that's a good thing. I know exactly in which area improvements are called for and hopefully, the lessons I've learnt from my first project will show in my upcoming projects.
Here's some pictures, of course, I strategically accessorize it so the flaws didn't show out so much. See if you can spot the hidden flaws based on the pictures below :
The cameraman said this angle is supposed to make me look taller. I think she's absolutely right, no? =)
If your guess is that the flaw must be around the shoulder part, then give yourself a pat in the back. I'm so glad that the bulky pashmina style is so in right now or else the unrefined-looking shoulder area would stick out like a sore thumb.
Notice the bulgy shoulder area?
So far I am very satisfied with the basic Singer 8280 machine that I bought. It has never given me any headache and is very reliable. So far. But I'm counting on it to last for the next few years. I am also pretty satisfied with the fit of the dress. I need to pay more attention to laying down the patterns according to the grains of the fabric as it does play a big role in the finished look.
For this dress, I installed an invisible zipper at the back. Most of the tutorial that I looked up in the internet kind of intimidated me at first by making it very clear that invisible zippers are evil and a pain to work with. Not such a big area of problem for me though. From experience, I can say that you only need two things : 1) to get the hang of which side of the fabric to attach it to first and 2) to pay attention to sew as far in as possible and you're good to go.
As of fabric choices, I think for the time being I'm going to stay away from knits as the edges keep unraveling at every second that I thought I would run out of fabric before I get to finish the dress. It's a bummer that my machine doesn't include a serger/overlock stitch. I think that function would help a lot. French seams is one way to get that rather finished, polished look but not if you are using knits, because your seams will end up looking bulgy. I fixed this by getting help from a local seamstress to overlock the edges at some parts. For my next 60s dress, I think I'll go with something more stretchable. Seriously, this dress is a pain to get into and to get out of. (-.-'')
Fabric from hell.
During the process I was pretty frustrated that I just couldn't get the dress, especially the shoulder part to look polished, like it was bought not hand-made. At one point, I've even thought of giving up and starting over. Once it hit me that I've set such an impossible bar for me to achieve on first try, everything seems to fall into place. And the slightly crooked shoulder doesn't seem that big of a deal anymore. I'll just fix the crooked shoulder on my next project.
The more important thing is, I've completed a dress that is wearable with my limited skills and knowledge and I've had so much fun whilst at it.
Now I'm all excited to start working on my second project which is an oversized boho-inspired bag. Here's a sneak peak on what's coming :
Colour-combi : Orange + Grey (hmm sounds pretty familiar)
Got the gorgeous buttons from e-bay, 2.50 Euros for 12 pieces.
This book is just awesome. Amy Butler is awesome. The book comes with life-sized pattern for each project.
How the bag is supposed to look like.
Can't wait how's this one going to turn out like!
