As the rain hammers down on our attic room window I can’t help but think that today is a very good day to stay in bed and reflect on how fantastic Saturday was!
Saturday 6th February was not only mine and Matt’s 2nd “anniversary” but also the wedding day of one of my very bestest friends Helen!
The service was very moving, there was so much love in the place! And Helen looked stunning. She wore a layered lace dress from Bradgate Brides with a huge train.
Mark scrubbed up pretty well too- rather dashing I’d say!
I love a good wedding and seeing all my gorgeous friends looking even more beautiful than they always do!
My friend Lois wore a fab sparkly show stopper of a dress and looked stunning!
And there was a definite deep blue/purple trend going on!
I really loved Lucy’s geo print viscose jersey dress- I have a pattern quite similar to this and I think with a little persuasion she might come and make one with me at the shop!
Any chance to spend more time with this lovely group of ladies always makes me very happy! (*and their other halves too- yes Mark!)
I’ve never been one to go all out with hair appointments, professional manicures and a whole new set of make-up but I do like the excuse to get all dressed up and make a bit of an effort. I’ve been so busy with running the business lately I’ve somewhat neglected some of the things that make me happy, like a bit of selfish sewing for a very special occasion! So I’m really glad I made time to make myself a dress for the day.
In my last blog post I wrote about the jacket I picked up when I was down in London for Helen’s hen do and the fabric I bought as well to go with it (not really thinking I would actually have the time to make the dress!)
Well, I knew I had limited time- one day in fact- and I am not the fastest of sewers- so I used my fail-safe 1950s dress pattern which I knew would fit.
I spotted this dress which I really liked in London but there were (as per usual) a number of things I thought I would change!
I liked the cut out back detail, the waistband and prom style skirt but I thought the duchess satin fabric had a bit too much body to hold the pleats properly and the skirt was mega short, also I’m not a huge fan of an exposed zip on formal dresses.
I really liked the tone on tone brocade in this dress and thought it worked well as a pleated style.
So I took those details and applied them to my own design and voila!
The Back… 
(Shame about the bra strap- I need to train up my photographer to spot these things!)
I will probably give this a very good steam press to set the pleats before I wear this again
Here it is with the jacket…
I’d probably add an inch into the bodice and go a bit longer on the skirt if I were to do it again but overall I’m very happy with how it turned out. I really enjoyed revisiting some of my old commercial design skills; shopping for research, picking styling details I’d seen in other garments and incorporating them in my own style.
And last but not least my lovely Matt made his own tie for the wedding- with a bit of encouragement and a tiny bit of help- but not much! I think he looked gorgeous!
I’m not teaching this week as Freya is away on her Holidays in Brrrrr..lin! Apparently it’s about 3 degrees there so she’ll be glad of the new coat she made and her snugly ponte-roma Tilly and the Buttons Coco tops and dresses- read more about what Freya’s been making for her trip on her blog The Dressmaking Diaries
Hopefully I’ll find time for a bit of sewing this week in the shop between looking for new teachers for our workshops which are really increasing in popularity and planning April’s timetable. Hope you squeeze in a bit of stitch-time too!
Happy sewing!
craftysarahsews 