Sewing and Craft

Tea Dress

My friend Tam held a fancy pants tea party this weekend. I wanted to make a dress to wear and as usual left it to the last minute and whipped it up the night before. It turned out  for the event, but if I were to wear it again I’d make more adjustments.

Pattern:

New Look #6557 bodice D

Variations:

  • straps instead of a halter
  • completely different skirt – I wanted a 50’s looks skirt therefore improvised with a wide piece of fabric with lots of gathering

Adjustments:

  • I added about ten cm of length to the bust piece so it wasn’t indecent and added a few cm’s to the width. I overestimated though and ended up making a whole pile of adjustments (my bodice has darts!) so I’d be more careful with that next time.
  • I shortened the bodice so the skirt started at my waist.

Time to make:

3 hours

The Verdict:

I like this pattern. I’ve made the red/white dress before in a navy and red cherry print with pleasing results.

9 Comments

  1. essie

    February 28, 2010 at 6:20 pm

    you look beautiful! i love the style of the dress, and that print, and the little bolero complements the dress so well!
    you’re so clever!

  2. CurlyPops

    February 28, 2010 at 6:40 pm

    Wowee you look gorgeous. What a wonderful idea to have a fancy pants tea party and a perfect opportunity to dress up.
    I would never be game enough to tackle a dress yet!

  3. Harmony

    March 1, 2010 at 6:46 am

    Aw, it’s so pretty! Sounds like fun… I would love to go to a fancy tea party sometime.

    1. Beth

      March 1, 2010 at 11:20 pm

      This dress turned out great! Straps instead of halter certainly sounds like a good idea. Gorgeous shoes and little cardi too!

  4. CurlyPops

    March 3, 2010 at 9:26 pm

    Hi Ren

    I didn’t have your email address to include you on my email earlier today. The paper printed the wrong date so we’re having an emergency bonus NCB tomorrow night. Everything is back to normal next week, so we’re still on for the 11th.

    Cam x

  5. Joanne

    March 4, 2010 at 9:18 am

    Lovely fabric, cute style, great accessorising!

  6. Kylie

    March 16, 2010 at 10:40 pm

    Oh wow, LOVE this!! You are very clever indeed, and you look fantastic :) Well done!!

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