Mauve Embroidered Dress

Drew and I have three weddings to attend this year, the first (this past weekend) being his childhood friend where he was a groomsman, and the next two are for his work friends. When we got the invitation for the first wedding, I thought it would be a fun opportunity to make a new dress since I didn’t have a fun flowy dress that felt beach wedding appropriate. I had an inspiration photo from a piece I saw on Instagram and loved the feel and shape of this and set out to find something similar in a pattern. I also loved the embroidery and was excited to use my Janome Skyline S9.

For this dress, I was debating between two different patterns: the Acton Dress and Vogue 9252. Since I knew I wanted to do embroidery, I needed a bodice who’s lines would work with the designs I wanted to add. The Acton Dress lines looked tough to add embroidery and didn’t have the skirt I was looking for, so that’s where Vogue 9252 came in. The top had the same feel, but the skirt was flowy and fun. I actually noticed Vogue 9252 from Hannah over at Palindrome Dry Goods, who’s version is so pretty!

This dress was “very easy” just as the pattern states. I was a little nervous since my last vogue make was very labor intensive and I was hoping that “easy” meant easy! I made a size 12 with a B Cup, which is definitely larger than I thought I would need to make but sizing was fairly accurate. I had to bring it in on the sides by 1.5″ each, so if I made a size 10, it probably would have been just right. I also shortened each bodice piece by 1″ to sit more at my waist. This dress is longer on my petite body than it should be but I actually love how long it came out in back. Something to keep in mind if you are making it, the hem will be higher on someone taller than 5′!

Fabric came from Fabric.com, it’s a really stunning Mauve Rayon that was super easy to sew with and took embroidery very well. It has wonderful drape and I only needed to add lining to the bodice. What sold me on this fabric was the color. Just between purple and pink, it was different, and not a color I had in my wardrobe. (Click the link below to see the fabric!)

For the embroidery, I was pretty set on having designs on the top neck and the bodice edge, and was interested in something in the center, but it was hard to find exactly what I was looking for. I stumbled upon the Art Deco designs from Embroidery Library and fell in love! I used Art Deco Floral Border for the bottom bodice and Art Deco Floral Corner for the neck. After sewing the two pieces, I thought adding something in the middle might be too much, so I kept it simple.

There were a few things I wish I thought about when making this dress. I totally forgot to add the pockets. I made the skirt, and then remembered the pockets. Since I serged all the seams, instead of ripping them apart, I just left the pockets out. Which isn’t a big deal, but I would have loved to have them. I also wish I thought more about finishing the seams in the skirt. Since this is a high-low hem, you can see the interior of the skirt. It isn’t a deal breaker, but the dress would look more professional with cleaner seams than serged edges. But, every project has it’s lessons and I’m still super happy with the finished dress.

The wedding was at a Yacht Club in Stone Harbor, NJ. It was a beautiful day; warm but windy! The bride looked stunning, and Drew and I had a great time celebrating with the couple. This dress on the dance floor was so perfect. The skirt was flowy and made it breezy when dancing and I loved having straps so I wasn’t pulling the dress up all night long.

The next wedding is Fourth of July weekend- I’m still debating making a dress for this one. It’s black tie and I definitely don’t have anything formal enough, but don’t know if I have time to make a new piece. I was planning on wearing my Black Floral dress, but it isn’t quite dressy enough. I know I have to decide pretty soon…any suggestions?