Winter Formal Dress 2016

It's back! And, it's the least-procrastinated Winter Formal post to date! (You can also read about what I made in 2014 and 2015).

The theme this year was Black and White. Very classic, so I decided to go with a classic shape and find some nice fabric. I wanted this dress to be something I could definitely wear again. 

This is the fabric I found at Fabric Outlet. I got it during a (hang on, you're not going to see this coming)...sale! Yup, 40% off! I also posted a picture of it on Instagram:

Loving the texture of this fabric from @fabricoutlet that I'm using for my #winterformal dress! #sewing #fashiondesign (edited with #acolorstory)

A photo posted by Taft Weber-Kilpack (@taftisseamstress) on Feb 10, 2016 at 3:18pm PST

My overall design for this dress was a fitted bodice and full skirt. And, of course, a pocket only big enough for my phone so I could make all of my friends jealous. Priorities. 

It looks like a mess, but math ✏️ and sewing ✂️!! My two loves 💕 #sewing #math #patternmaking #burningmidnightoil

A photo posted by Taft Weber-Kilpack (@taftisseamstress) on Feb 4, 2016 at 7:57am PST

I started with a BurdaStyle bodice sloper and spent a lot of time altering it to achieve the exact fit I wanted. 

V-neck, waist darts, and a band at the waist. 

There's also waist dart and a v-neckline in the back, so the front and back mirror each other. 

The skirt (seen here with the mock-up bodice, sorry about bad lighting) is a double circle skirt. SO MUCH FABRIC. I love it! 

Here's the bodice made in the final fabric (and it's lying on top of my quilt!).

The fabric is a brocade, so it holds its shape very nicely. 

After that, I attached the lining, which I had interfaced and sewed the skirt to the bodice. I topstitched the lining down by hand, using little tiny stitches that are (hopefully) hardly visible around the neckline and armholes. I also blind-hemmed the skirt, which took forever. I accomplished a lot of Netflix while hand-stitching on this project. 

So...ta da!

(please ignore the dress form's bra straps...)

Invisible zipper on the side seam. 

A dress with a pocket! My favorite thing!

Here's my brother, helping to demonstrate the sheer volume of this skirt. I loved how it moved, the skirt was always lying differently and making different shapes. 

6 hours of hemming and 1 lecture about being fashionably late later... #winterformal #sewing

A photo posted by Taft Weber-Kilpack (@taftisseamstress) on Feb 21, 2016 at 1:13am PST

Here's a picture from the night of! My dress was comfortable and fun to dance in - a huge success!

On a side note, I will be switching back to a post every other Wednesday for the next couple months. Hopefully I can start posting more often after that. 

-Taft WK