It is time to formally present... The Serena Dress!

It’s time to finally reveal the Serena Dress! With lots and lots of photos… be warned!

I hope it is clear (not only from the name I’ve given it) that my inspiration dress was the poofy green dress worn by Serena Van de Woodsen from Gossip Girl.

Ohh it was love at first sight – I loved the drama from the skirt, which perfectly contrasts the tightly fitted bodice, the dropped waist and the oversized two-toned bow!

The PR contest was what finally got my everything in gear to knock this off…

The fabric

So I went to Shepherd’s Bush searching for the perfect fabric – I wanted taffeta in a shade of green that suits my skin tone (believe me  it can be tricky!) as it would give the skirt some body. Well… that was not what I found in the end! I came across something in a beautifully rich green colour, and it was claimed by the shop keeper to be silk dupion… Although I knew that what I saw was almost certainly NOT silk, I loved the colour and hand of the fabric (and it cost less than £4 per meter… d’oh where in the world could you buy silk dupion for that?) so was a very happy buyer. I bought 5 meters, and used this as both the fashion fabric and the lining (as it is comfortable next to the skin).

I also bought some taffeta in another shade of green to make the bow detail, and to potentially make another project in the future.

The design

Despite how much I have been wishing,  I don’t have a body (or hair!) like Blake Lively (who else has legs that go on for that long? and has a body that’s curvy but still lean?) or the lifestyle, I thought I’d make a few changes to the original design.

I reduced the poofyness of the skirt. It is still by no means limp, but I think making it smaller will make it so much more wearable. I drafted the skirt as a half circle and the skirt lining much shorter and narrower. To learn to make a bubble skirt with pick-up detail, please see the tutorial HERE.

I changed the neckline from a deep V-neck to my favourite sweetheart neckline which is a much more flattering shape for my body shape. The bodice of the dress is similar to that of my wedding dress – the neckline was based on Simplicity 4070 (need I say more?) and the width was reduced in order to achieve the tight fitting and extended the bodice for the dropped waist effect. After all the alterations, I was really happy with the end result.

Of course I had to add the bow – that’s what makes this dress! It was relatively easy and in my mind adds sooo much to an otherwise single coloured and, dare I say, plain (?!), dress. I couldn’t resist but add a TUTORIAL to show how the bow was made, in case anyone was interested.

The making

Now this baby took me 2.5 days to create! This is the first time that I didn’t use a pattern – so a lot of it was trial and error, and needless to say, there was a lot of unpicking! Thank god I had a long (not long enough) Easter break! After Day 1, I thought I was almost there… then after Day 2, I got to midnight before realising that it wasn’t gonna happen. What a classic case of underestimating the project!

I had major issues with the zipper as I didn’t manage to sew the bodice and skirt together in a straight line… on several occasions! There was a lot of fabric to deal with, and I have learned now to mark the self –drafted pattern pieces… It is really true that planning is key to everything in life! After almost an entire day of unpicking and hand basting then machine sewing, I managed to get the zipper to look reasonable… not perfect, but I was happy with it… I also inserted the zipper between the outer and lining layer so the finish is really neat! 

I also had an obsession with the look of the pick-up skirt. There were a couple of times where it looked great with the pins in, but not as good once it was tacked with needle and thread. But after about 5 goes (I am a perfectionist – did you not see how long it is taking me to do the wedding dress?), the skirt was exactly the right length, the right poofyness, with the pick-ups at the right place in the right shape. Phew!

Despite all the unpicking, I really enjoyed the process as it felt adventurous. There is something intriguing about not using a commercial pattern – and to have the dress exactly how I wanted was so empowering.

Ah I think I’ve talked more than enough now… time for more photos? Definitely.

                  

I couldn’t be happier with how the dress had turned out. It may not look as stunning as the inspiration dress, it had turned out just how I wanted. I think it fits me well (but note to self – do not wear it to a 3 course meal), it’s dramatic but not over the top, and it looks really fun! I think this is my new favourite wardrobe item, and I cannot wait to wear this and show it off! What’s more, the process of making this was really fun, now I want to make more copycat items!

Tutorial - how to make a two-toned fabric bow

The detail that I absolutely LOVED about the Gossip Girl dress is the bow. Oh it's so oversized and dramatic, and most importantly two-toned! I loved how it spiced up what would've been a single coloured  (not as fun!) dress. So when I tried to make a knock-off version, naturally I had to include the bow too. 

It was easy to make. So this is what we are trying to achieve:

Step 1: cut fabric pieces

I made a rather large bow and cut 2 pieces (in 2 colours) of 30cm x 16.5cm, including seam allowances of 1.5cm all all sides. 

I also cut a smaller piece later on for the tie which was sewn in the middle. It was roughly 10cm x 6cm. 

Step 2: sew the 2 pieces together

With RST, sew the 2 pieces together at one of the long (30cm) side. You should end up with a square when you open the joined piece. Press seam allowances open. 

If you are using a soft fabric and want a structured look, you may need to consider interfacing/underlining. Here I'm using taffeta so it's stiff enough. 

Finish the seam allowances with your usual method (I used a zig zag stitch on my basic machine)

Step 3: fold over the joined piece and sew 2 sides leaving a short side open

With RST, fold the joined piece so that the same colour is folded onto itself. This should be clear with the picture below:

Step 4: turn the right side out and top stitch the edges

Turn the "bag" over to the right side at the open side, and fold over the seam allowances at the open side to the inside. 

Topstitch all 4 edges. 

Step 5: gather middle of the rectangle

With the longest running stitch on your machine, stitch 2 rows next to the centre leaving the start and end open, i.e. do not back stitch. 

Pull the threads at both ends to gather up the middle. Baste over the stitched lines to secure the shape. 

Step 6: wrap the centre 

Fold the 3rd (small) piece of fabric lengthwise with RST and sew 2 sides leaving one edge open. 

Turn the right side out and close the open edge with a topstitch or a couple of stitches of hand sewing. I machine finished this as I was feeling later -  it's possible to hide it at the back of the bow. 

Wrap this around the bow until you've achieved the look you want (I folded my centre piece slightly) and pin it at the back. Tack the hoop into the bow at the back and we're done! 

I hope this help. I used two tones of green for my project and really liked it but think there are so many different looks that can be achieved with this. I could imagine a floral version of this, with a bright centre hoop for a summer dress or even as a hair accessory. Who knows? I may use the same method to make a bow for the back of my wedding dress! Perhaps I could have a blue loop to be my something blue! 

Update - Sunday 18 March

This weekend was packed of wedding stuff! my lovely bridesmaid came round to help me with the dress, made buttonholes and I had my hair trial. Was also going to have a trial photoshoot done too but that had to be postponed as the photographer had some family things to attend to. 

So here are some photos:

 Look at that train! 


 As you can see, I haven't quite done the lace-up back yet... I have taken the side seams in by 5mm or so on each side so the side seams would align with the side of my body better (if that makes any sense at all!). Before I start messing with the lace-up back, I am going to try it out on one of the mock-up corselettes from before so I have a better idea of the shape and size of the 'V' gap at the back. 


I'm also tempted to include a bit more details at the back of the dress. After all, this is where people will spend lots of time looking at during the ceremony! Currently I'm thinking about a pretty bow which could cover the bottom of the lace-up (and the short zipper underneath that) and help with the bustle... but I'll worry about these details later! 

My tasks for the next couple of weeks include (of course I like my lists... I'm a tax accountant after all ;) ):

• Start hand finishing seams of all layers - overcasting and catchstitching...
• Practise lace-up back on bodice mock-up
• Possibly hand basting some of the pleats to keep them in place;
• Hand basting all layers together (oh yes, we decided that I'm keeping the lining layer too... so that makes it 7 layers altogether! but they are surprisingly not that bulky, phew)
• Machine attach all layers but corselette lining whilst minding the pleats
• Attach the corselette lining layer to the above and flip - and hope for the very best!
• Finish the diagonal drape line
• Insert lace-up back
• Make up another list for the following weeks!

So quite a lot to do really! better crack on, especially as I would quite like to enter the PR April contest - RTW... more on that to follow I'm sure ;)