I recently met a couple of German exchange students looking for a dressmaker in the one really luxury fabric store (prices to match) in Auckland.  I don’t work as a dressmaker but I’m faily competent so I volunteered to make a couple of straightforward patterns for them (Simplicity 2440 & Vogue 1016).

Katarina wanted the Simplicity pattern in a turquoise polyester satin, lined in acetate.  [She was paying for her own dress so there wasn’t much in the way of natural fibre being used.]

When she came for her first fitting she had a picture on her phone and a “look in her eyes”.  She wanted a “princess dress” and had found the perfect one … could this be achieved?  Reaching for Threads 136 I showed her the “cloud skirt” and her face lit up.  So much for a straight forward pattern … before I knew it I had agreed to an organza overlay with each attachment point embellished with Japanese mirror glass beading … and a wrist corsage to fit with the “Secret Garden” theme of the ball.  I didn’t have the heart to raise the NZD200 price for the making.

It took 15 hours to arrange and bead the skirt and it was worth every minute to see her face the day she collected the dress.

The skirt side seams were French and the centre back (to allow the insert of the invisble zipper) was Hong Kong bound in organza ribbon.  I added a foundation between the dress and lining to carry the boning and a waist stay to ensure the top of the dress had adequate support.

This dress is not for me but I think it is a lovely (and appropriate) dress for a 16-year-old’s first prom.

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