2251 finished!

OK I know I said in the last post that I was not going to finish all the hand sewing for now, but the amount of fraying drove me crazy so I couldn't help but hand finished all the seams... and now the zipper is in, hem finished and seams done, we have the finished product. Voila!

I'm really happy with how it's turned out. I love the fabric - I had this in mind when I bought the silk chiffon and it's turned out exactly as I pictured it. It's comfortable to wear (albeit being tight fitted) as it's really light and the fabric is lovely and soft. and I'm glad the drape was not too tricky to work with which has really helped me build my confidence with the drape for the wedding dress :) 

Simplicity 2251 - LBD?

Before Xmas, I mentioned the drape that I was going to make on the front of the wedding dress. To familiarise myself with how this would work, I had a go at Simplicity 2251 which is the closest pattern that I could find. 


I had this in mind when buying the fabrics, so I ended up with:

• 1m of white/black silk chiffon with butterflies (for the drape)
• 1.2m of black silky material - I think it's viscose  but it's nice and shiny and very comfortable to wear!
• silk habotai lining. 

Here's a photo of it as a work in progress. I'm yet to finish the hem and all the seams - as the fabric frays A LOT, I'm going to hand finish all the seams... but maybe after all the hand sewing for the wedding dress is finished first. Priorities!

I haven't made many alterations to the pattern (thankfully I'm usually a standard Simplicity size 6), but then again I haven't followed the steps in order. A couple of thoughts when I made the dress in case it's helpful:

1. The pattern called for interlining for the neckline on the wrong side of the lining. I'm not sure how much this add - personally I prefer to use silk organza selvages to stablise the bias. 
2. I had a 'tube turner' gadget that is supposed to help me turn straps inside out easily... but it didn't work! However the trick explained in the pattern is really useful - I think I'm going to use the 'needle method' for the satin straps for the lace-up back of the wedding dress.

Once I've hemmed the dress and ironed it, I will upload some more photos of the finished product. Who knows, if it turns out well, maybe that can be the dress that I wear to our summer ball this year?