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: bubble hem with pick-up skirt

After 2.5 days of solid sewing and a lot of trial and error, I am finally happy with my entry for the RTW contest, as inspired by the Gossip Girl green dress (in reality I think this was a dress designed by Lorick New York). Before posing for the PR contest and uploading my entry, I thought I'd share a couple of techniques that I have tried out when making this dress, in case anyone would find it helpful. 

Here's a sneaky peek of the finished dress (more pictures to come later of course) before I start the first tutorial:

OK so this tutorial is on how to make the skirt, namely the bubble skirt with pick-up details. Here we go: 

Step 1 Cut the skirt pieces

I cut the skirt layer as a half circle, made of 3 pieces: skirt front and 2 skirt back pieces. If you need help in drafting a half circle skirt, there are lots of tutorials out there if you google it (and that's the reason why I didn't think it was necessary to repeat it here). I cut the skirt layer about 70cm long. 

If you want a fuller skirt with more drama, or equally a slimmer look, then you will need to adjust the skirt pieces accordingly, eg cut a circle skirt or a more A-line skirt. 

Also if do not want to have the pick-up skirt detail, then the skirt pieces can be much shorter, they will only need to be slightly longer than the lining. Similarly, if you want less pick-ups, then you could shorten the skirt layer also. 

Step 2 Cut the skirt lining layer

Then we need to cut the lining pieces. The key for the bubble hem is to use the lining layer to structure the look. You will need to cut the lining pieces narrower (but do bear in mind that you've gotta be able to walk in it...) and shorter. 

Using the same waste measurement as the skirt pieces, I cut the 3 lining pieces, with the length slightly shorter than what I want the finished skirt to be (as the bubble will make the skirt longer). 

The top left corner of this picture shows what I used as a skirt lining pattern (I used the same pattern to cut all 3 pieces -- the front piece on fold and the back pieces allowing for seam allowances). 

Step 3 Assemble the skirt 

For the skirt, with right sides together ("RST"), sew skirt back pieces to front piece at side seams. 

Then sew back pieces together, leaving a gap at the top of the skirt back for inserting a zip later. I left 12cm but this will depend on person. 

Press open seam allowances. 

Step 4 Assemble skirt lining

Similarly follow the same steps to assemble the skirt lining. Now you should have both layers done, except for the partially open centre back seams. 

Step 5 Gather the bottom of the skirt layer                                          

  

On the wrong side of the skirt, using the longest stitch on the machine, and with very strong thread (this is crucial if you want to avoid the disappointment of a broken thread when you're almost done with the gathering...I've been there! although the colour of the thread will not matter as it will not show on the finished project), sew 2 lines of running stitches next to one another, at about 0.5cm and 1cm respectively to the bottom of the skirt. 

DO NOT back stitch at the start or the end. 

Pull the threads at both ends to gather bottom of the skirt to the length of the bottom of the skirt lining layer. 

Step 6 Attach bottom of skirt to lining

With RST, sew the gathered skirt bottom to the bottom of the skirt lining, with 1.5cm seam allowances (so that the gathering stitches won't show through). 

Step 7 (optional) - gather dress net for extra drama

This step is optional - I used a layer of gathered dress net to make the skirt more poofy and fun but only one layer so it's not too crazy and that I still can find an occasion to wear the dress. 

I recycled some of the dress net from my wedding dress toile #1 (which I have now cut into pieces to be reused!) and cut it to be slightly narrow than the length of the skirt lining, and 5 metres long. I left a gap at the centre back again so the zipper won't get all jammed with the dress net. 

Then I gathered it at the top until it matches the top of the skirt lining and attached it to the wrong side of the lining. 

Step 8 - sew skirt to lining at the top

With the wrong sides of the skirt and lining together (with or without the dress net), I sewed the top of the layers together, leaving the zipper space open still. The above is a photo of the layers just before I sewed the top together. 

Now you should have a skirt with bubble hem! Here're a couple of pictures (the one on the dress form was placed on top of the bodice, before they were attached)

Now the pick up skirt. This is more to do with trial and error, until you are happy with the result. As the name suggests, you would need to pick up a bit of the skirt layer, and pin it to the lining layer. If you are using dress net, I would pin it through both the net and the lining. 

I worked my way down from top of the skirt, until I pinned the whole skirt. Here are a couple of pictures from when I was trying the pick-ups (one is on my toile - I did this to figure out how long and wide my skirt layer needed to be):

I think the pick-up skirt is really versatile - you could make it as random as you like, or as structured as you like. Different fabrics will also give this a different look. I wanted mine to be quite relaxed and loose, and thought my attempt in the above picture was a little too tight. so I tried again and again!

Once you're happy with how it looks (do make sure you actually are 100% happy... as I had to unpick a couple of times!), hand sew the pick-ups in place with tailor's tacks. 

And this is what I ended up with (front and back)

Note that for the back, I worked around the zipper (as it's quite short anyway) so I didn't have any pick-ups at the centre until the bottom of the zipper ended. If you want pick-ups all the way to the top of the skirt, I would suggest using an elastic waistband instead. 

I hope this helps!