Making a Dress - Blue one piece lolita dress with wide collar.

I love my Otome no Sewing book as they provide me so much inspiration for future project.

Inspiration

So I came across this little darling.

Very simple lines and of course perfect for the office.  I have to make it!

Fabric

Since I went a little bit overboard in buying the blue summer weight fabric for the parade overskirt I thought it might be a nice idea to use up this fabric first.  I mean it is lovely fabric and wouldn't it be sort of nice to have a set of clothes all made from the same fabric.

Design

As I said before I love the simple lines which appeals to me a lot.  I do love frills but I like my lolita wardrobe to be more suitable for day to day.

The original design in the book was unlined but this was not an option if I was using my blue fabric.  It was very thin so I decided that the version I was going to make was going to be fully lined.

The actual drafting of the pattern was pretty easy apart from the collar.  I had a hard time getting the curve right and in the end I had to cut the pattern out of the book to get it right.  Oh the heartbreak!!!

Construction

All the pieces were cut, sewing was actually quite simple.

The collar was a little tricky as it was only after putting on the collar that I realised that it didn't sit flat on my shoulders.  I suppose that is good really but it does pose a underwear issue!

Unfortunately in my new flat there is no where I can take a picture that looks good.  So after many many many takes this was the best one.

In hindsight I should have put on a petticoat but I didn't feel like it.

Although I love the dress there is one slight problem and that is the sleeves.  When I bend my arms they are a little bit tight but other then that it hangs very nicely.  I have already worn this a couple of times at work so I might make another one with short sleeves for summer!

Making a Dress - Empire-line Otome dress

Hello peeps

Long time no see!

When was my last post.....oh it was that long ago.... oppps....well things have been very hectic back in Kitty World.  I started a new job back in October 2013 and then in April 2014 I finally managed to get myself back into accountancy.  I tell you one thing, having a job is great on the personal finance side but it does eat away the blogging and crafting time.  Then if that was not enough, I decided to move to my new flat!  Yep I am finally on the property ladder and the best thing to come out of this move is my new crafting room!

Still a little messy but you should have seen it before the racking.

Anyway since the big move I have finally gotten round to making my empire line otome dress.

There was a slight change of plan with the fabric since it dawned on me that I do not have a blue and white yukata so I spent the next 2 weeks trying to find a suitable alternative and eventually I did.

It is a bit more bluer then I wanted but I was so lucky to get the other one that I thought at least this one will not get stained so easily.

Anyway as normal I was going to take progress photos but this was such a simple project that by the time I realised I have not taken a single photo, my dress was almost complete.

Oh well!  So here is the finished dress.

Isn't it adorable?  It is really light and comfy to wear and it is perfect for the office as it is not too frilly to look out of place.

My only complaint with this would be the straps as the fabric is a bit too soft so the hemming did not go very smoothly.  In addition, I decided to use my new hemming machine foot and although it made the hemming work a lot shorter, It created a wavy effect of the edge.  Maybe with a bit of iron it will reduce it but overall I do like the look of the straps.