My uncle had a big 60th birthday party not long ago and it was kind of like a wedding. Seriously. Family from all over the US and Canada came for it…it was big time. And I love when I’ve got something special to go to…because it gives me a great excuse to make something awesome to wear. This is what I came up with:

Inspiration:

I knew I wanted something ultra girly and feminine and that to me is a fitted bodice with lots of gathers. But I wanted some variation to it so I left it flat in the front between the darts.

Fabric:

I initially went for a black brocade and really went against my desire to buy it simply because of the weather. So I opted for this cotton sateen from Fabricland, which was only $7/m. Unfortunately, I didn’t wash it beforehand because:

  • I didn’t know how to wash cotton sateen
  • I didn’t have enough time (I waited really last minute to buy/make this as per usual lol)
  • I was too excited to make it

The thing is, it has a two way stretch. I cut the bodice with the stretch going horizontally and after one wear, the bodice is slightly big. And I don’t want to risk washing it and ruining the fabric. Guess it’s a catch 22 here: slightly baggy to wear or wash it and ruin the fabric. Serves me right! ha.

Construction:
  • I made this using a basic bodice pattern.
  • The skirt is 2 meters wide.
  • The insides are finished using white bias binding. This includes the skirt hem, armholes and neckline.
  • Took me 7 hours to make from cutting to finish.
Final Thoughts:

While I’m really happy with how this turned out, some big lessons were learned here: wash the fabric beforehand (which, to be clear, I definitely know better than that!!), it’ll help you understand what will happen to the stretch and also make you understand how to wash/dry the material properly after the dress has been made. I’d really like to wear this dress again, so I’m just going to have to risk washing it and see how it turns out!

xo!

Sharadha

Photos: Bright Osei-Agyeman
Location: Allen Gardens, Toronto


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5 Comments

  1. AnnaKatherineSews Reply

    You should wash some samples (cut a few 5″x5″ squares) and see what happens! Generally cotton sateen survives ok, and it might have *just* enough shrinkage to help it snug in a little better.

    • Sharadha Reply

      Oh good to know! I’ll give it a wash and hopefully it’s still good!

  2. Thank you for sharing this awesome dress! Did you line it? If so, what did you line it with? I’m not sure if cotton sateen needs to be lined and I’m afraid of finding out the hard way. Did you use interfacing?

    • Sharadha Reply

      I didn’t line it or use interfacing. This was a very quick make…made it the day before! so there wasn’t time to line it.

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