Self-covered satin buttons are a swine aka the sexy funeral dress

Hey pop pickers,

How are we all?  Personally, I'm desperate for little lady spring to prance in and spread her skirts so we can get past this interminable half-arsed attempt at winter.  Until it gets brighter outside I think I'm fully entitled to indulge my latest (sort of) make - the sexy funeral dress.

Bear with as I know that's a weird concept but I thought I wanted to channel/pay homage to the women that turn up in film noirs at the funeral looking all foxy and glamourous and know one knows who they are. Who is she?!  Let me back track a little though to the original incarnation of this dress that has turned up on social media but not on the blog - the homage to Drew Barrymore in the Wedding Singer dress.

Me and the mother ship rocking it out at my bro's wedding.

The keen eyed among you will identify that this pattern is the hallowed M6696 shirt dress, which has been made by just about everyone.  The ever fabulous Sew Dixie Lou brought it to my attention when she made one to see our love, Elvis.

I mean just look at her what a babe. I'm still shocked it did bring him back from the dead.

She and everyone on the interwebs has made versions of this pattern and there's a reason for it because it's ruddy awesome!  For me the things I love are the separate waistband that really gives the dress such great shape and allows for lots of alteration and the proper collar with a stand just feels so swishy (I know what I mean).  I hasten to add it's not a quick make but it's a satisfying one though.  That said by the time  I tackled the sexy funeral dress I'd nail a lot of the techniques.  On the subject of technique I can't recommend lovely Mary's series of post on this dress with lots of pattern alteration advice.  Thanks to her I totally nailed the FBA (even if I do say so myself) and the bodice really does fit like a glove.

Look at those beautiful of siblings of mine. Mama D surrounded by those excellent genes of hers.

So that was my first bite of the M6696 cherry and I warn you that you will never just make one of these dresses because once you get the fit right you can completely change up the look.  Therefore, when I decided I wasn't going to get round to make an opera coat I used the 2.5 metres of black duchess satin to make the sexy funeral dress.  

I don't care that I look like a shiny waitress I ruddy love this dress.

I cannot recommend duchess satin enough it's a dream to sew with and is ruddy beautiful against your skin.

My only complaint was that making 11 self covered buttons in satin was really bloody hard!  As ever though I reached out to the sewcialists and they reached back with the best advice.  I will pass the knowledge on to you.  If you find yourself having to make satin self covered buttons then interface the satin and hand stitch the gathering stitch to draw up material over the button.  Once I did this they came together like a dream.

As an aside during the course of this make I was informed by my friend, Harley that dressing sexy for a funeral isn't such a weird proposition and in fact there is a song called Dress Sexy at my Funeral by Smog and it's really good.

Have a listen it's a belter.

So that's the latest from me darlings.  I'm working on a blouse that I will get finished by Monday after it's languished for weeks.  I'm hoping with Spring will come the return of sew jo, which has wained a little of late but until then I'm gonna continue to be the mysterious woman at the back in black ;)

Stay foxy,

Miss D

xxx

I've learned it's much more fun to steer my ship through stormy waters than it is to drift along keeping the shoreline in sight aka Facebook let me know it was 5 years today since I started sewing.

Hey darlings,

Thank you so much for all the kind wishes about my upcoming voyage of discovery.  I can't wait to be your woman in dispatches.

How are we? I imagine quite a few of you like me are making wild concoctions from our store cupboards as we crawl towards the first pay day since Christmas whilst planning to be more organised with our finances this year. Perhaps your dreaming of summer and planning all the outfits you want to make when the sun finally shines.  Or maybe your thinking about what the year ahead holds for you.  All of that and a million other thoughts have flown through my head today.  However, you don't need to know about my mental detritus I'm sure you have more than enough of your own to be getting on with so I'll get to the guts of this post, change.

I've learned it's much more fun to steer my ship through stormy waters than it is to drift along keeping the shoreline in sight.

When I logged into Facebook as I do automatically most mornings being the slave to social media that I am the "on this day" thingy flashed up with a series of stuff that happened on this day.  I scrolled through it and found out that today was quite an auspicious anniversary for me. On this day, 5 years ago I took myself to sewing school.  I'd had a rough year in 2010 with a career change and a nervous breakdown but I'd just got into crochet and various sources suggested I give dressmaking a go.  Clearly, a seed was sewn (pardon the pun) because I ended up late one night googling sewing and discovering both Zoe and Tilly.  I was intrigued and needed to know more.  So I did another search and found the Jac and Kat's sewing school and decided to bite the bullet and book a six week beginner's class.  I ended up with an awesome teacher called Ricky who helped me make my first ever garment.  We were meant to make a skirt but I had a heart set on a leopard print dress so that's what I did.  I was addicted - my life plan to live out my days in leopard print was mine for the taking.

My first ever handmade dress please don't look too closely :) The pattern is McCalls M2401

Well I can say that 5 years on that one decision to have a go has changed my life irrevocably and positively in ways I never dreamed possible.  Sewing indeed makes me more me than I ever knew possible.  I can't imagine where I'd be now if I hadn't taken that first step.  So basically I'd say to anyone just do it whatever it is.

What have you done in your life that brought about change?  Or what you would like to do this year to see it happen?   I wish you absolute best with it and I for one know you can even if you think you can't.

Lots of love and light,

Miss D

xxx