Awwww....


So, this has been my labour of love in June.  Courteney turned 17 last Thursday and attended her year 12 school ball last night.  It was a bitterly cold night at the end of a snowy week, not the sort of week that you think about parading around in strapless gowns.  Her father and I attended her pre ball party where we mingled with the kids and their partners and parents and took photos like crazed paparazzi, much to the bemusement of the young people.

This dress was conceived last month and started out as a very simple strapless cocktail length gown in turquoise blue.  Courteney is not prone to frou frou, so we figured simple is better.  What we were unprepared for however was that school balls seem to take on a life of their own and very little is discussed for some weeks prior to the event, by both the young men and young women alike.  Every time we visited a fabric shop our initial plan grew just a little until our vision was not even recognisable from the dress you see above.  

Our starting point was Butterick 5457, which I picked up online in a pattern sale.  Our original plan was view B, made in satin with a contrasting sash just as in the picture.    I knew Courteney would not fit a stock pattern though so I actually drafted the bodice in size 8, grading out to size 12 in the waist and shortened it by quite a bit to fit her petite frame.  I cut the muslin out in some cotton calico that I had lying round and after a couple of muslins, I was ready for the final bodice.  By this time however, Courteney had decided on some very sparkly royal blue organza that she had seen in Lincraft.  I had some reservations about sewing in such a flimsy and uncooperative fabric but like the eager to please mother that I was in ball mode, I dutifully obliged but secretly began to mentally chew my nails.  This was, I knew going to be a challenge.  There is no unpicking with this stuff, and this dress just had to be perfect!


 This dress actually went together quite easily but because of the delicate nature of it, was put together in small time slots.  Please excuse the wrinkles in the above photo, it was taken after a pre ball, ball and post ball party ending at 3am this morning no less!

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 I completely changed the gathered waistband.  The pattern called for it to be cut on the bias.  I found with this method it actually stretched out of shape, so I re cut it on the grain.  The organza however was proving stubborn and would stay in gathers.  My daughter by this time had decided that she actually wanted to bling the dress up further and was admiring sequins and diamantes in the shop.  My solution was to sew both sequins and diamantes to the gathered waist section to hold the gathers in place.   What began as a problem actually turned out to be Courteney's favourite feature of this dress. 

The end result was a very proud moment for this Mum.  My daughter looked beautiful in her Mum made dress and vintage diamante necklace lent to her by her grandmother and had the most incredible night with 600 of her year group from her school.  We get to do this all again next year in year 13, this time however, it is tradition to wear full length dresses.

Comments

  1. Your daughter looks beautiful. Well done on making such a lovely dress, I'm sure she'll remember it for years to come - much better than anything bought in the shops!

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    1. Thank you. She is already planning next years...sigh...there is no rest for the wicked!

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  2. The necklace sets off that beautifully made dress just perfectly. You are right to be proud!

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    1. Thank you! My Mum kept that very quiet. I didn't even know it existed!

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  3. Beautiful dress! What a lucky girl and I can just imagine how proud you must have felt :)

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  4. so pretty. You did a wonderful job!

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  5. One amazing dress with one very lucky daughter. I love the sequins and diamantes on the waist band. Just beautiful!

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    1. Thank you! It is funny how a potential problem can turn into something fantastic!

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  6. The dress is perfect on your daughter and I love the story of its evolution. I agree that it was worth the extra effort with the organza because that was what she chose and this was her night and that's what us mums do, right! You've done a lovely job on the dress, the necklace is stunning and your daughter looks gorgeous - love the hair.

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    1. Thanks Megan. Sixty four bobby pins came out of it, she tells me!

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  7. Oh everything is perfect! Great job on the dress, I love it when ideas turn the original into something spectacular and so right. I hope she had a great time.

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    1. She had a fantastic time. Don't they do such a wonderful job! The weather was getting worrying there for a few days. We thought there might have been 600 very unhappy kids for a while there!

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  8. Your daughter looks beautiful and she is very lucky her Mum is so talented, you've done a fabulous job and she'll remember her unique dress, you deserve to feel proud ;)

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    1. Thank you, I think so! She does a little sewing herself so is very aware of the effort that went into it.

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