Winter Formal Dress 2015

I know, it's so so so so late, but better late than never! 

This is the first dress that I patterned completely from scratch, completely of my own design! I started with a bodice sloper and altered it to fit me and then added the design details. 

Here's the cutting process: 

And a hella artsy preview picture for Instagram: 

I kept really good notes for myself on the envelope for this project. I'd done it all from scratch and I don't trust my memory to be my only reference. 

The final product!

This fabric is a crinkled, silver taffeta from Britex Fabrics. It was surprisingly affordable considering where I bought it, and the crinkles meant there was a little bit of stretch in it. 

The asymmetrical neckline on this dress was a major design point and was drafted several times before I settled on the perfect shape. It was a little tricky to cut out and position on the fabric, but I'm very satisfied with the outcome. 

Short sleeves. Looking back, I wish I had made them just a little bit shorter, but I was (of course) rushed to finish. 

Both the front and back had darts coming up from the waist. (Is there a technical name for that?) 

THE BACK IS THE LOVE OF MY LIFE. BUUUUTTTOOOONNNSS. More on this later.

The skirt is a half circle skirt; full enough that it moved well, but not so full that the fabric yardage became expensive.

And the back! I just adore those buttons. My machine *thinks* it can do buttonholes, but it really can't, so I had to hand-bind all of them (while watching Legally Blonde on a babysitting job, of course!). Unfortunately, I made them a little to big and it kept coming unbuttoned while I was dancing! My friends were on the lookout and buttoned me back up whenever they noticed ;). 

Also, shout out to my mom for that epic French twist hairdo. 

Speaking of which, here's my friend Cat and I before the dance! We got some awesome awkward couple pics together. 

-Taft WK 

P.S. Webers! That's GG's crystal necklace I'm wearing. And the matching bracelet too! Beautiful jewelry, I've worn it with all the fancy dresses I've made.