Balloon Dress (aka an Audition for Australia's Got Talent)

So, remember that I make balloons? And dresses? I also make balloon dresses! Recently, I auditioned for Australia's Got Talent, with a special dress just for the occasion! I had fun, but I don't think I'll be making it onto the show. But I'm okay with that!

I thought I would share some pictures with you from a mini photo-shoot me and my bestie had after the audition. I really think this is my most favourite balloon dress of all that I have made! 

It was a fun afternoon :) Got a few looks and questions (as you do) while we were in action. Yes, it is all made out of balloons. And no, I wasn't worried about the dress being popped or otherwise deflating!

If you want to see more of my balloons, you can be a fan on Facebook, visit my website or balloon blog! :)

Larkspur Summer Dress

UPDATED 18/05/13 to include pictures of me wearing the dress!

So I decided to enter the Project Sewn 'Sundress Challenge'.

In true deadline style, finished my dress with less than an hour to go!  I submitted my link to the link party 10 minutes before it closed to new submissions. Lucky.

Here in Australia it is nearly 7:30 at night, and my husband is out so unfortunately I don't have any pictures of me wearing the dress. Yet. But I plan on making him er, asking him nicely to take some proper pictures this weekend, outside and all... In the sun. As the purveyors of the challenge would be very glad to hear I'm sure!

Let's break down elements of how this dress came to be.

Inspirations

 THE FABRIC! Ever since I saw the Alexander Henry 'Larkspur' fabric online (probably someone's blog) it was love at first sight.

No project was ever worthy enough to cut into my beautiful fabric. Until now! 

KITTEN D'AMOUR An Australian clothing boutique that sells beautiful creations. Luckily for my purse,there are no stores in Darwin. 

These two dresses (although gorgeous!) were not my inspiration pieces per se, but it is to give you an idea about how lovely and inspiring their dresses are! You can even buy them here or here :)

Design

I had the unfortunate oversight of not ordering more of this yummy fabric. The advantage to this however was adding the solid teal boarder to lengthen the dress, otherwise it would be the most awkwardly short dress I have ever made!

The pattern was from one I have drafted on my dressmakers dummy, one I was creating for another dress entirely (with a fitted skirt no less :P) So this design was more organic and I let it come to me. The pictures below are developing the pattern for the other dress, but here you can see some of the design! Pattern pieces are made from draping on the dummy. And yes, I recycle sheets of paper by sticking them together!

The long sash connects into the side seams, and can be worn either to the front or back with a bow.

Construction

I'll take some photos soon to add of the insides of the dress etc I took great pains to match the fabric picture as best I could, and I'm really thrilled with how the birds of the bodice match up (there is three panels in the front, and 4 in the back).

Finishing techniques have been utilised to give it as much of a professional touch as possible. I hope to share those in these alleged photos :) Done!

 

Small touches really make the difference! A hand made loop for the hook and eye closure is something my instructor in my fashion design Cert IV really liked... So this is something I always try to consider when making my garments.

I even pulled out my overlocker... A machine of mine that doesn't get as much use as it should!

I'm so happy with my little dress. I am glad I was able to use this challenge as the opportunity to cut into my precious Larkspur fabric. If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask. Oh and I would really appreciate your vote if you believe I am worthy! Click here to see the other dresses and hopefully vote for me! ;)

Cue: The Knock-Off

Recently, I started a new job. Not the job I coveted, but maybe things have worked out for the best. At least for now. One of the best things is the ability to have no restrictions on what I can wear (besides thongs and shorts!). A downside of this is gives me the challenge of what to wear each day!

I purchased a dress from one of my favourite shops, Cue. The hardest thing about buying from my favourite shop is the prices. Ouch to the $229 that the dress cost me! Given my sewing mind, I realised I could do my own version of the dress for a fraction of the cost! And so my challenge was set.

The original dress has salmon pink for the bodice, and chocolate brown for the skirt. I was excited to chose my own colours for the dress, and chose a deep purple and an amazing Japanese fan print for the skirt. 

My skirt features a different style of pleating and a lower neckline. The original neckline cause irritation to my collarbone area. Spotlight, where I purchased my fabric and other bits and pieces didn't have the colour purple I wanted for the zip, so I went with pink instead for a fun detail.

When I wore the dress to work, it was with a brown skinny belt and matching kitten heels. 

Would you like to see some of the building stages? Read on!

The toile was draped on my dressmakers dummy, Bumble Bee. She is padded to my dimensions, and was purchased from the fashion school at the end of my course. Although the term 'draping' conjures images of folding and draping fabric onto the dummy to create a garment, it is not the only meaning of the term. Its a means to make patterns utilising the curves of the body that is not the same when drafting a flat pattern.

One thing that really excites me about this dress is the finishing techniques used. Thanks so the two tutorials from The Slapdash Sewist, and on from The Musings of the Dedicated Housefiancee, I made a dress with fully sewn arm holes and enclosed lining around the seam around the zip and where the bodice meets the skirt.

This is what the lining looks like on the inside. I love how it looks so much that it will feature in my next dress. It will be made from suiting material in purple and grey.

Well, that's it for now. I'm off to watch Spongebob Squarepants and Ren & Stimpy as I cut out the pieces for my next dress. 

Until next time!

Update!: The dress in Action. I wore it today, and it also happened to be a day that a Police License Plate competition I entered had their press release. I was invited along as 4 of my suggestions were chosen, and the biggest vehicle on the fleet was one of them! Woohoo! :D

Read the article on the NT Police Facebook Page here. How cool right? (the green highway patrol vehicle to the side reads: PATROLN which was one of the other 3 ;) The two not pictured are BSAFE and YDUI which will go on motorcycles (so I'm told!)