I was invited to go to the Kaleidoscope Charity Ball last weekend and I knew that I wanted to make a dress for the event. I really wanted a blush dress to wear (specifically to match these heels. I am so in love with them!) but I couldn't find any that were stretchy enough to fit over my bump. So I headed down to Michael Levine and we pulled every blush fabric they had! I finally settles on a dancer spandex. A dancer spandex! No joke! The 'right' side of the fabric was intensely shiny, so I just flipped it over and used the matte side of the fabric! It was super stretchy, not see through, and the opposite side of the fabric reads a lot more high end than the shiny side, and ended up working great.
If you don't sew, you can shop all my outfit details as well as similar dresses below. And you can find the tutorial for the dress after the jump at the bottom:
Materials:
2-3 yards of thick stretchy fabric. I used this spandex fabric from Michael Levine.
Matching thread
Fitted dress for a pattern, make sure it is from a fabric that has similar stretch
Pattern paper
Zipper
STEP 1:
Using a fitted dress that has a good amount of stretch, create a pattern onto your pattern paper. Add your seam allowanced and add an additional 1/2" to each side of the front for your seam allowance for your cut-outs. Add an extra 1" to either side of the back of your dress, and cut the back of your dress down the middle.The added fabric will give you room to place a zipper in the back, as well as add the cut-outs
Trace 2 sleeves, and front and back neckline.
Refer to the illustration for cutting out the dress sections, cut one center front piece from your front section so that your front side sections have more of an hour glass curve. This will allow the fabric to curve nicely on your body. Do the same thing for the 2 backside sections.
STEP 2:
Stitch your two front side sections to your center front section. I stitched these seams with a normal sewing machine first, then serged down the seam allowance.
STEP 3:
Attach your two back side sections to either sides of your center back pieces.
STEP 4:
Place your back sections on top of your front section, right sides together, and stitch across the top shoulder seams. Make sure to pin your back sides correctly so that the straight center line will match up in the back.
STEP 5:
Open up your dress and insert your sleeves, placing the sleeve at the center sleeve curve (see illustration) right sides together. Match up sides and center first when pinning.
STEP 6:
Flip your dress inside-out and stitch under the arms and down the sides. Attach your neckline pieces, stitching with right sides together.
STEP 7: Hem the sleeves, bottom of the dress, and flip your neckline piece into the dress, press, and use a wide straight stitch to stitch closely all around the neckline to hold the neckline piece in place.
