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. 🙂