When I finally had solid plans to go to St. Lucia for my brother’s wedding, I realized I wanted to make myself a dress. It’s mostly because it’s winter and he was getting married on a tropical island. On the beach. And finding a dress to fit the bill and my style was going to be tough. Oh, and I’m cheap. So I wanted something cute that didn’t cost me anything.
I spent ridiculous amounts of time trying to figure out what I wanted. I almost bought dresses on ModCloth (because it’s obviously the best option for clothing if you’re not wanting to make it yourself) but I really wanted to make it myself. Suddenly. A lightbulb. The Stepford Seven.
I basically stalk Alida and Jessica in every form. They are my sewing heroes.
I secretly pretend to be best friends with them. (That is possibly the weirdest thing I’ve ever written on this blog.)
Anywho. Carrying on.
I didn’t get a lot of shots of me in my dress. Because I felt weird asking someone to take a bunch of pictures of me when I was at someone’s wedding. You know…the whole thing about it not being my day and me not being the focus. But I did get this one.
I’m hoping that I did this dress pattern justice. I had these fabrics in my house already and I didn’t have the zipper that is required to make it the right way. I “Katyed” this project and did it without a zipper. I am busty and needed a FBA anyway, so I decided to go super crazy with it and expanded the back piece enough that it would slip over my head and be wearable, even though the bodice is of a woven fabric.
I think with the belt, it works. It helped cinch the waist once it was on me. The shoulders were a little droopier than I had anticipated but it was okay. The thing I did adore was the fabric I used for the skirt. It was AH-mazing. The drape is awesome, the black & white ikat is punchy and formal yet not…and it was super soft and I loved wearing it.
So all in all, this dress was a winner. And, because I used only materials I already owned, it was FREE! I certainly plan on making another, but perhaps following the rules the next time around. Or at least mostly following the rules. I do what I want. 🙂
I like the bottom fabric more than I like the top fabric, but over all I love the dress. It works perfectly for a beach wedding. It's so pretty on you too. The greenish hue really makes your red hair pop.
I was afraid having the entire dress in a pattern would be too distracting, even for me. That's why I went and tried to tone it down with the top. But now I'm thinking I could have pulled it off with the Ikat everywhere. Whatevs, it worked. 🙂