Hey there ladies and any men that might be reading this. I am participating in a super exciting and super fun competition over at Family Ever After called Sew-vivor. A sewing competition like the reality show Survivor. It is an international competition and you can earn immunity, and people get voted off and everything. I know I have posted about my Phantom of the Opera -ish dress from Halloween 2010, but I have not ever gone into detail about the inspiration and process that helped me create my dress.
I started with this pattern by Simplicity,
Dress C was the specific pattern I used.
I found this pattern at Simplicity.com I knew my need for modest dress would keep me from ever wearing this one below which is very close to the Andrew Lloyd Webber movie. Plus, this one was only available online which means I would have to pay the $10.15 + shipping. I got the other pattern at Hobby Lobby for 99 cents!
As I started to go along, slowly, the ideas were coming to me. Some of it, I just made up as I went along. The first change I made was I shortened the sleeves by about 6" and added an elastic. I wanted to add the white ruffle around the collar for just a little extra "cover-up". I took about
2 1/2 feet of white fabric and gathered it.
The front. I added the short v-shaped band at the waist to make my waist appear longer.
The original pattern called for a zipper, but I really wanted to do a loop-up look. I love it on wedding dresses, and thought this helped make it look fancier. This I totally made up as I went along.
As you can see in the picture above, there is no bustle. That's because I made it magnetic. Easy for attachment and removal. I used 4 pairs of super strong neodymium magnets (magnet strength of somewhere around 9 or 10) for the bustle. That way, I could wear the dress again, but wouldn't necessarily have to have the bustle. The bustle I just made up. I had researched all the history of costume books I could find at the library and online.
I just love it, and I am so excited for the competition.
Just lovely! That was always one of my favorite movie costumes too. I did a version a few years ago for my two older daughters when they went to a princess party. I just love the bustle! (I'm visiting from the sewvivor competition)
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