Dress Making 101

I have been obsessed with the idea of making my own clothes. Over the last couple of weeks (I never do anything fast) I have been making a muslin dress. The first thing that I did was buy some patterns from Hobby Lobby when they were on sale for  99 cents. The next thing that I did was buy a class from crafts.Here is the link to the class I chose http://www.craftsy.com/class/The-Couture-Dress/53 This is a Couture Dress class that takes you through the steps of following a pattern from beginning to end. You do get a pattern with the class but I am using one I already bought fabric for. I am planning on making the Vogue pattern soon (in the next year) but the class is so wonderful and incredibly helpful.

This is the pattern that I am using for my dress. I have a little confession and I hope that my mishaps will help you to avoid the same blunder. If I go to the store and buy a dress off the rack I am a size 10-12 so I bought that size pattern. Well it was way too small. So I had to buy the next size up in the pattern. Now if you are great at math and can figure out how many inches you would need to add to everything, go for it. I am not good at exact measurements and or straight lines. Here is a tip measure your bust, waist, and hips so that you can check the size you need. The good news is unless you add a tag no one knows the size of your dress and your secret is safe with me. So I am about a 14-16 in this dress pattern.

If you noticed in the first picture this pattern will make six different dress styles. This is the one I am using. It seemed like the easiest in the one fabric, and I am not overly fond of spaghetti straps.

 

Here is my first draft of my muslin (the dress before the dress, which after it is all fit will be used for a pattern for all of the other dresses I make like this later) on my dress form called Pinny. I have to take in the middle piece so that it is not so baggy (how great is it that I can fix the bits I don't like). Also the reason it is fitting pinny poorly is because it is inside out. Silly mistake but easy to fix.

 

Here is the fabric I am using. I just love the colors and the big pink flowers.

The top right side out. The black lines is the pattern lines I sewed in. So much easier to match the pattern when you see the lines clearly! Totally worth the extra time and effort. Plus I thought Pinny looked skinny here.

Repining the middle so that it looks better.

A rainbow behind our house what a lovely break.

I will update you when I finish the muslin. Maybe I will even be in the muslin next time to show you how it looks on me. Wish me luck.

I hope you find something you love to do and conquer the project. May your days be filled with love and laughter. Be well my friends.