Tag Archives: Red Carpet Style

My Dressmakers’ Ball Dress

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I’ve made a YouTube channel! My first video is talking through some of the details of the dress I made for The Dressmakers’ Ball. I won’t always also do a blog post about things I’m going to make videos about, but in this case I took loads of photos so I wanted to share some of them here!

I made a copy of a dress worn by Ginnifer Goodwin to the Met Gala a few years ago. I’d always loved the dress and thought this was the perfect excuse to make it!

You can see the red stitching I used to attached the beautiful sequinned fabric I bought from RayStitch (after realising there was no way I was going to have time to sew all the sequins on by hand) to the silk organza I bought from Stoff and  Stil.

The black stitching you can see is the stitching lines I did to mark the edges of where to sew on the sequins – when I was going to do it by hand. If anyone has any ideas what I can do with the sequins, by the way, please let me know! I guess some embroidery or something!

The gold stitching is the new stitching for construction – in this case darts. I cut open the darts on the front bodice and pressed them open to reduce bulk.

I had the leather (or more accurately faux leather) already in my stash as I bought it a while ago from Girl Charlee to make a leather jacket.

To sew the leather into the seams, I tried a couple of methods but what I ended up going with was cutting the strips 1 1/4″ (the finished width) plus 2 x 5/8″ seam allowances, which is 2.5″. I then stitched one side of the leather to one side of the seam, 5/8″ away from the edge, along the 5/8″ seam allowance of the leather – along the chalk line below.

I then did the same on the other side – but the 2 pattern pieces are not yet sewn together, they are only attached with the strip of leather.

Then I sewed the actual seam of the 2 pattern pieces, which brought the 2 edges of the leather together, but not overlapping, reducing the potential bulk at the seam. The photo, below, is how it looked before it had been pressed. Once pressed the leather sat pretty flush with the sequins, which is what I wanted!

It was starting to come together here – it just needed the leather on the shoulders and the sleeves adding. Oh, and a zip!

I reinforced the shoulders to make sure they didn’t stretch out.

And then added the sleeves and the leather around the neckline and shoulders.

My carpet looks like I murdered a sequinned Muppet! And I’m still finding sequins now, a month later!

I added a waist stay to the dress – my first time doing this. It holds the weight of the skirt, which is pretty heavy, and takes some of the strain off the zip as it’s such a fitted dress. I learned how to do it from one of my books, Couture Sewing Techniques. I would highly recommend this book – especially if you’re making something more involved.

The ball was such good fun! They had the Leicester University big band playing the music, and they were great. They played a mixture of traditional big band stuff and some newer things. I find it the best kind of music to dance to!

I managed to take basically no photos all night – which I think is the sign that you’re having a good time! I did take this loo selfie, though! I had on ALL THE EYESHADOW – I had to watch a YouTube video for how to apply it!

And lovely Helen from Stitch My Style took this photo of me – during the 5 minutes I remembered I should take at least one proper photo of my dress at the actual ball!

Did I mention I love my dress?!

It is fully lined in this rayon challis from Minerva crafts. I hemmed the lining and sequins together at the hem and on the sleeves as the sequins were quite scratchy and the rayon was a lot more drapey and I feared tripping over the lining inside my dress, so I hemmed them together.

One of my favourite things about my outfit was one of the things I didn’t make – I wore trainers! I can’t be arsed with heels any more. I have never found them comfortable and I thought (excuse my French) ‘fuck it’ I want to be comfortable and be able to dance without having to take my shoes off, or feeling like my feel were going to fall off after 10 minutes!

It has an almost invisible side zip and some poppers on the underarm seam of the corresponding sleeve to allow me to get in and out of it.

I drafted the pattern myself, using a Burda Academy course I mentioned I had signed up for here. I think I possibly over-fitted the dress a little as it ended up with basically no ease around the waist, but I do think it’s one of the best fitting things I’ve made (which I guess it should be as it’s made from my measurements). Especially across the back – I’m very narrow across the back so I usually have lots of extra fabric and pooling because I’m too lazy to do any adjustments!

I sewed some of the sequinned fabric I had left onto this little clutch bag to make a matching purse to take to the ball. It just about fits my phone, some cash and my hotel room card!

 

As well as the matching trainers and purse, I wore my gold party socks – I almost thought it was too matchy-matchy but then I realised I don’t care!

I really hope they run the ball again next year, or in 2 years as it was such good fun. And who doesn’t love an excuse to go all out with an outfit!? Do you think you’ll go next time?

 

 

Style Crush: Claire Foy

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During our Christmas holiday we watched the whole of the BBC’s adaptation of Little Dorrit from 10 years ago, starring Claire Foy in her first major role. I would definitely recommend you to watch it if you’re in the UK and haven’t seen it. Watching the series made me remember how much I like Claire Foy – she’s brilliant in The Crown, of course, so I thought I’d do a style crush post on her. I like her even more since she’s had her hair cut off, of course. 🙂

I love this more casual look – I’m a sucker for stripes and I have a free magazine pattern for very similar trousers so I could probably copy this look pretty easily.


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I love the collar on this dress – and I noticed she often stands with her hands in loose fists, which is what I do in photos too!

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I’m a sucker for yellow, as I’m sure you know. And I like the tiny triangle of stomach on view.

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I really, really like this dress and I’m not sure why – it’s not a colour palette I would probably wear. I love the silhouette of the dress, though, and the little petals hanging off.

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There’s a similar silhouette on the dress below as above, but the one below has an added train – bonus!

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I really like this look – I think it’s a top and skirt rather than a dress. I love the shade of blue and the interesting twist detail on the neckline. I love the red shoes and lipstick, too!

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Now I’ve started looking through the looks I’ve picked out of Foy’s, I realise they do all have a similar silhouette. I really like the pink with the red, and who doesn’t want a cape on a gown?! I’m kind of tempted to copy this look for my Dressmaker’s Ball dress.

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I really love this dress, too – it’s covered up because it goes all the way up to her neck, but it’s also quite revealing because the under-dress is much less demure.

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I love how often she wears trousers and suits on the red carpet – when I started looking, there were a lot of trouser looks.

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I love, love, love this pink suit – it was one of my inspirations for my Socialite Soiree suit – I still kind of want to make a pink suit.

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I also still want to make a tuxedo, and I love this double breasted, quite loose fitting one she wore to last year’s Golden Globes.

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This is one of my absolute favourites of her outfits – I love the shirt, with the grandad collar and I love the fit and shape of the trousers. I definitely want some trousers like this in my wardrobe.

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And finally, here is a suit and shirt I really wish I had in my wardrobe – and had an occasion to which to wear them! Maybe I’ll make another suit for the Dressmaker’s Ball!?

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Do you love Claire Foy as much as I do? Which is your favourite of her looks?

I do also love Olivia Coleman, though, so I’m still looking forward to the next series, even though Foy won’t be in it.
 

Style Crush: Kerry Washington

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Last month I decided to start watching Scandal, which is all on Amazon Prime, to see what all the fuss was about, and because I love Joshua Malina on The West Wing Weekly podcast. I can’t decide if Scandal is good or not – it feels like a soap with a bigger budget, which is fine but not what I thought it was. Anyway I’ve decided I’m a bit in love with Kerry Washington. She is so so beautiful! And I love her style, so I thought I would share some of my favourite looks with you, in no particular order.

I really love the simplicity of the silhouette of this dress, coupled with the graduating colour of the sequins. If I had an exciting party to go to, I might make a copy of this!


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This dress looks like a pretty good idea for this hot Summer weather we’re having. It’s a bit Halston to me, and coupled with her more natural hair, it looks really effortless.

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This is another of my absolute favourite looks – I know she was styled for Elle magazine here, so they’re not necessarily her clothes, but I really want to copy this outfit. I love the proportions and the colour, and the tunic/dress could be worn on its own, which would give you a 60s vibe. I also really want to get a pair of those shoes!


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I like the silhouette of this outfit and the use of the reverse of the fabric on the top compared to the dress underneath.


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You know how much I like yellow. Nuff said!


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She seems to be so good at choosing simple but chic outfits for the red carpet, and this Lanvin (I think) dress is no different. The fit is so impeccable and I love the bow detail on the shoulder.


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I really love the bedazzled lips, matchsticks and jewels on this blush pink colour.


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This pink is perfect on her and I really love the panelling on the skirt. More inspiration to copy for next year’s Dressmaker’s Ball?


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This might be my absolute favourite look I’ve found.  It definitely has a 70s vibe, especially with the clogs and I love her hair here. Definitely inspiration for a cute denim Summer dress, and I love how the topstitching adds an extra layer of detail.


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More sequined dress inspiration! I love the neckline and shoulders on this. I reckon I could recreate it using the Tilly and the Buttons Martha Dress, which I have but haven’t made yet.


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Not sure about the 60s beehive but I love the dress – the fabric having the squares pattern on makes it more interesting.

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I love how she wears maybe more grown up looks and then younger looks like this dress, which is definitely made cooler with the booties and the loose up-do.


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And I couldn’t resist sharing this look – I love the sculptural style of the dress and how the white patches look almost like a lapel. And I love the blunt hair with the straight lines of the dress.


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Have you watched Scandal? Do you love Kerry Washington as much as I do?

 

 

Review of 2017

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As this year approaches its end I (like many other sewists and bloggers) thought it would be fun to look back and see what I achieved sewing-wise.

The main part of my planning for this year had been my #2017MakeNine but I only managed to make 4 of the 9 patterns I had planned to make.

To slightly defend myself (against who?!) I did make 3 of the 4 patterns twice. (For all the makes below, click on the photo to be taken to the full blog post).

I made 2 Marianne Dresses and I love them both – both are from quite light weight jersey so they’re not the best for the cold weather we’ve been having in the UK recently.

I also make 2 Moneta dresses, though I don’t really wear the first one because I stretched out the neckline while making it.

I also make 2 Inari Tees, and I have a dress version cut out ready for next Summer – I didn’t get around to making it last Summer as it didn’t seem to last long enough!

The other make I managed from my Make Nine was my Roberts Collection dungaree dress. I did want to make the dungaree version as well but I didn’t get around to it.

I bought denim to make both pairs of jeans back in April but I didn’t quite get around to making them. I also have 2 fabrics to make the Carolyn Pyjamas from so I think I’ll bump them onto next year’s list too.

I also had joined the #SewMyStyle project and although I knew at the outset that I wasn’t going to make all 12 garments throughout the year, I only managed one – the Toaster Sweater, which I think was the pattern from January (though I’m pretty sure I made it late).

Although I didn’t make loads of the things I had planned at the beginning of the year, I did make quite a few things in the last 12 months.

I made a few presents and non-clothes, including 2 pyjama cases (a monkey and a penguin), a sack for work, a tailor’s ham and sausage (stuffed with fabric scraps), and a moomin embroidery (which helped me realise I actually quite enjoy embroidery).

I managed to refashion 3 garments: a simple tee refashion, my Christmas Party Dress and – the one I’m probably most proud of – I refashioned one of my dad’s suits into a suit for me.

In terms of sewing from scratch, this year I made:

  • 8 dresses
  • 1 pair of trousers and one pair of culottes
  • 2 skirts
  • 8 tops
  • 1 pair of shoes

The shoes were definitely a highlight! And after listening to Jasika’s episode of the Love to Sew Podcast, I feel inspired to make more shoes!

I am also proud of having made trousers for the first time! Shame I didn’t parley this into making more pairs of trousers as they are the thing that is really lacking in my wardrobe now.

These trousers are probably my most worn make of the year, but also getting honorable mentions are my stripey jersey dress which I’ve worn loads considering it was a late-in-the-year make.

I’ve also worn my grey-blue melilot shirt loads this year, so I definitely have more planned.

I feel like I can’t do a round up of the year without mentioning my Dressmakers’ Ball dress – ooh, I’ve just realised I made an extra pair of trousers than I listed above because my dress had trousers underneath! It was definitely one of my favourite makes from the year and it was fun to do some – very basic – drafting to alter the Emery dress to make the copy of the Emma Watson outfit I liked so much.

There were some other things that I mentioned I wanted to do in 2017, like make a quilt, re-upholster a chair and make a wall hanging. I did none of these things. I did, however, complete the Wardrobe Architect project and I do think this helped me to focus my sewing and fabric buying.

Obviously on a personal level, 2017 wasn’t the best – and 2016 sucked too – so here’s hoping 2018 isn’t quite so crap and I have no family sadnesses.

Did you meet your goals in 2017? Are you rolling some of them into 2018 if not? I will – I think some of my #2018MakeNine will be the ones I didn’t make in 2017!

Style Crush: Allison Janney

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I’ve been recently re-watching The West Wing (for probably at least the 6th time) and I remember each time I watch it how much I love Allison Janney and her character, CJ Cregg. I’ve also been listening to the podcast The West Wing Weekly, which is brilliant if you’re a fan – and I think it would make you a fan if you weren’t already.

CJ is one of my all time favourite characters in any tv show, not least because of The Jackal. There is a bit of build up, but it’s worth it. Apparently Allison Janney did this as a party piece and Aaron Sorkin liked it so much he put it in the show – but she had to do it as CJ and not as Allison!

I really love this suit. I may have to copy it! I have the Bellatrix Blazer pattern, which could be a good one for the jacket, and maybe the new Sasha trousers from Closet Case Patterns for the trousers. No idea where I’d wear it, but it would be fun to make!

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And here she is (I think in the same suit, but with glasses and different hair) with Melissa Fitzgerald, who played her assistant, Carol on The West Wing. She now runs an organisation called Justice for Vets, which helps veterans in the US who might be struggling with drug and alcohol addictions, to find treatment and get support. I think it’s pretty cool that someone who was in a show about politics is now running an organisation to help people and hopefully change policies.

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Also amazing is the fact that Allison Janney went and did an actual White House briefing in the actual White House (and made some in-jokes about The West Wing, including about the Jackal) to highlight the growing epidemic of opioid addiction in the US. We watched a Louis Theroux documentary about that very problem and in certain areas and states, it really is an epidemic. Pretty cool to use your platform as a well-known actress to raise awareness of people in much less fortunate situations.

She has a very good line in amazing gowns on the red carpet, which isn’t surprising given that she’s won 7 Emmys (and been nominated 13 times), 6 SAG awards (with 15 nominations) and 5 Golden Globe nominations (though no wins, oddly)!

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Christmas Party inspiration? Might be too much!

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If you had said to me to pair a floor-length sequined skirt with a slightly sheer blouse I probably would not have thought it would look good, but this outfit does look kind of amazing!

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The last photo has to be this one of Allison Janney and Kate Winslet kissing – Kate Winslet is evidently as big a fan as I am!

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To be honest, I think I mostly chose Allison Janney for this post because I love her and think she’s brilliant in everything. She’s up there with Emma Thompson with women I love and want to be best friends with!  I’d not really thought particularly about he style, but now I’ve looked into it, she’s pretty classic in the way she dresses. Like Tilda Swinton, she’s pretty tall and still wears heels. She’s not quite as out-there as Tilda, though!