What I finished: 2023 #20 - black lace bustier dress
Buckle up, buttercup, because there are lots of photos ahead! Last weekend I did an intensive sewing weekend retreat at the Madalynne sewing studio, and it was such a wonderful experience. I’ve done several one-day bra workshops and two sewing retreats at the Maryland shore with Maddie, so I know to expect a great experience, and this retreat was no different.
Pattern: Simplicity 9850 by Madalynne (to be released late October)
Size/Pattern mods: I sewed a size L, B cup. I think my measurements technically put me in a medium B cup, but I sewed my muslin entirely out of woven fabric, instead of a stretch back, and was scared about fit. It actually fit beautifully in the end, even with the stretch back. I left off the shoulder ruffles, and I did adjust the top cup piece, scooping out the bottom to make the cups flatter (see photo below for the piece that I scooped out), but adding it back to the top to make the proportions the same as the original. The normal alteration for this piece would be to pinch out equally from the bottom and top cup pieces, but I didn’t want the seam line to go down any, because I left my top cup piece unlined (taking advantage of the scalloped edge of the lace), and I didn’t want any nip slip incidents.
Fabric: I waited a little too last minute to figure out my fabric, so ended up with a trip to JoAnn Fabrics. I bought a variety of plain sheer black organza, and netting, plus an embroidered lace that I was hoping would work out (but I was a little nervous about). I ended up using four fabrics from JoAnn’s - the main fabric is the embroidered lace, the lining is a light-weight stretch matte poly satin, I added an extra layer of organza to the cups for structure, and the back bodice pieces are just two layers of power mesh, for stretch. All of my notions I got from Madalynne (boning, casing, underwires, fold-over elastic, strap elastic, and strap hardware). I did end up using a regular zipper instead of the called-for invisible zipper, because I didn’t even want to mess with trying to sew an invisible zipper in the embroidered lace (still was a beast though).
Date started/finished: 10/14/23 - 10/22/23 (from muslin to final hook and eye, retreat was only 10/20-22)
Friday, the first day, was spent going over the pattern (a shortly-to-be-released bustier-style party dress), assembling the bodice frame and doing soooooo much gathering for the skirt. On Saturday, we assembled our cups, attached them to the frames, put on the straps and attached the skirt, with some interludes for chatting and a delicious lunch. I had some homework both Friday and Saturday nights (because I did a little too much chatting, plus my fabric was a beast and I had to utilize my seam ripper a decent amount), but I was able to wrap up everything except a hook and eye, which I attached on Sunday morning while others also did the finishing touches, and then we finished things off with a photo shoot and a bougie brunch at the Four Seasons - all in all, a pretty fabulous weekend!
One of the highlights was definitely the photoshoot, and now I have some pretty fabulous photos of my finished make by the talented Maddie!
Most photos are courtesy of Madalynne, as she so wonderfully documents every workshop she leads!