In February I turned 50. My family threw me a terrific party–the best birthday party of my life! But months before the party took shape, I decided I wanted a magical dress to wear to celebrate the turning of a new decade.
I had a vision. Not a terribly original vision, but it was mine. And I couldn’t find a pattern for it. But I found fabrics (on sale around the winter holidays, natch!), and Kirsten reassured me about the amounts to order. Here’s what I purchased: Silk noil, silk crepe de chine, half a million yards of black tulle, and the fabric that started it all– Zodiac embroidered tulle
So, I did what any self-respecting barely-intermediate sewing-ista (honestly, what word do we use? Sewer looks gross on the page, and do we like sewist? IDK!) would do: I mashed up what I (mostly) knew how to make.
With the guidance of dress doula Sarah of Hartford Stitch, I cropped and took in the bodice of Grainline Studio’s Uniform Tunic and drafted a circle skirt with help from this website (Sarah promised me she’d make a more detailed tutorial, which I’ll be sure to share when she’s got it ready.) There was machine sewing. There was serging. There was hand basting. There was installing an invisible zipper. There was hand stitching. There may still be hemming of the silk underskirt that didn’t get finished before party time, but let’s not talk about that.
This dress stretched my skills. I made mistakes that I won’t (knock wood) make again. I learned techniques I can’t wait to use over and over. This dress was pretty much what I wanted it to be. I felt like a magical creature in it, and I may have sat down way more than necessary just to feel the swoosh of all that tulle (7 layers) as I did.
Maybe you’ve heard of frosting sewing? Well, this was my first bit of frosting. I can’t wait to try my hand at it again!
