Every week there’s a red carpet event somewhere in the world so there’s always lots of dress inspiration out there. Hence this month’s little black dress using Minerva Crafts fabrics with a touch of Prym’s notions.
When I began planning this dress I had grand ideas of creating another Vivienne Westwood couture dress worn by Helena Bonham-Carter but I held back this month.
My pattern choice is New Look 6531 as it has lots of variations. The neckline variations and skirt styling made this choice ideal for my dream red carpet dress.
I chose this Prada Self Lined Stretch Crepe Suiting from Minerva Crafts. It’s amazing to sew and wear. There’s plenty of weight to this fabric but it still has drape and movement.
I ordered the covered boning but didn’t use it this time around. I like structure to my evening dresses but this fabric didn’t need any more help.
I tried a test version and found the neckline straps where too heavy for me to wear.
The test version had a lot of gathering at my sway back so I pinched out some of the excess fabric out of the pattern.
The back of the dress still has some drag lines but these might lay flatter if I release the back darts.
The straps are angled toward the centre back so they don’t slide off my shoulders.
Prym have some gorgeous bra straps that are too pretty to hide so I used these on the dress.
It took me a while to test out the best way of adding these straps.
I added the front band across the back neckline. This allowed me to sew ribbon onto the necklines and secure the bra straps in place. I can remove them but I like these for now.
This is as accurate as my cutting was while I tried to balance the dress side seams. It’s not couture sewing but I gave myself 5cm seams so I had plenty of room to play with.
I also didn’t fuss with the hem and kept it at midi length.
So with the test dress complete, this final dress took a day to make.
Once I have an event to go to, I may fuss over this dress a bit more, but at this stage, I’m happy with this result.
Thank you Minerva Crafts and Prym!
velosews 