That Dior dress? Finished!

I have a feeling that Dior won’t be suing me after all…

     Here it is. I’ve probably spent over 20 hours in total on putting this dress together…and I’m only fine with the result. Not as ecstatic as I’ve expected to be, which is probably due to the fact that it existed as a problem for about a year, then when I figured out how to do it, well…it got boring! It’s unfair from me to say that I’m not even half as much in love with this dress as with the kimono dress, as I have actually worn this already, unlike that one. To be honest, I wore it with a jumper on top, which is pretty cool as I can dress it down, but I have a feeling that there will be hardly any occasions when I’ll feel totally comfortable wearing it without a bra, as I (and Mr Galliano probably) designed it to be worn…

    And a little bit about the construction, as it was a struggle, but it turned out well. I’ve learned on my first attempt of making this, that I need a short kimono sleeved bodice pattern so that there are no armhole seams. As I couldn’t find any, I drafted one by modifying a basic sloper. Then I made a muslin from the lightest gauze like fabric out there, which seemed to be a good fit, but the dress was a lot heavier (obviously!?) and felt too loose around my waist. Since I didn’t want to alter the chiffon bodice to avoid further fraying, I decided to insert an elastic band into the waistline, which successfully cinched it in a little. Then I attached the velvet ribbon first from the outside, then from the inside, hiding all the seam allowances neatly.

    The closure on the back of the bodice caused a headache though, as the crocheted thread loop  for the button (a result of the most boring 30 minutes of my life), weakened the fabric. I decided to sew grosgrain ribbons there instead, which seems to be working a lot better.As for the he invisible zipper in the skirt bit, well, it turned out as it should have, pretty invisible. 🙂

    The edges were finished by zig-zag stitching over an embroidery thread then cutting the excess fabric off, which gives the hems some definition, as well as it makes the fabric tear easily (see on the picture of the sleeve below). The floral fabric on the bodice was first basted then hand sewn from the inside of the dress, but it was done in a less than professional way, as I got really impatient by the end of it, as you can imagine.

All in all, I’m happy it’s finished and I hope I’ll get to wear it more!

Image sources: Title: Dior dress, background images of the Dior dress: Style.com, all other images are mine.