Lace and Tulle, The Little Black Dress

Time flies, specially when you are busy with no-creative-but-necessary-tasks. I haven’t been really productive last weeks if we are talking about sewing stuff. Soon I will talk about some recent changes in my life but, now, first things first.
​This post is about a project that I made last summer and it is not in my gallery yet. When I designed, I wanted to create a piece with a deep V neck but mixing tulle with the main fabric. This was the result.

Sketches and Patterns

My first designs weren’t exactly for a dress. I thought it would be great to have a playsuit for summer with a V neck and back. After some sketches and ideas on paper I started with the patterns. I had already done front and back for the top part when I decided to get some nice fabric.
I visited one of my favourite places: the Warehouse Store of the Cloth House. I am really lucky to live close to this place. They have amazing fabrics with an excellent quality. There, I got a beautiful lace fabric, thick thanks to an interfacing, mostly opaque but light.
The polka dot tulle was at home already and I can remember where I got it. Maybe because in that moment I didn’t have my fabric notebook to write it down.

Changes: From a Playsuit to a Dress

At home with my fabric, almost ready to finish my pattern… I changed my mind! Suddenly, I wanted to make the bottom as a dress instead as a playsuit. It was an easy thing to make: just finishing the patterns with a skirt. Done! Now I had a dress… a Little Black Dress.

If you follow me on Instagram these Work in Progress pictures are not new for you (and if you don’t follow me… now it is a good moment for changing that). I spent some warm evenings fighting with the tulle and the lace and showing special moments on my IG feed (and also in Stories).

Final Piece: LBD

I really wanted to play with fabric stripes, sewing different kinds and making some see-through effect. That was my intention when I planned the piece, more than if it was a dress or a playsuit. That is why, except for the deep V in both, neck and back, the dress is really simple:

• Main idea divided in three parts: Top, Waist and Bottom.

• False deep V neck with two different fabrics between sides.

• Plain skirt with one dart in every quarter (Basic one: two darts front, two back).

• Lateral concealed zip.

• No sleeves or any other complicate piece to attach. 

I know it is not spectacular but I am glad with the result. I finished it faster than I expected and that for me it is a big thing. Seams between different fabrics or pieces are well done, specially if I think that I am not using this new sewing machine as much I should. We get better with practice and I feel I need more to get confidence with this one… Reality: I miss my red Alfa (I really do).

This was one of my projects of July, almost half-year ago. I must confess… I’ve been procrastinating instead sewing (ceramics, embroidery…), Now, I will go back to my little space, I’ll be good and finish the dress on my table. It’s waiting for too long.

XO
Berenice.