Taffeta Mess Christmas Dress

The first attempt was a fail (see photos later in post).  

But - I kept on and now I'm finished with Lucy's Christmas dress!  

The yoke and sleeves are chiffon and the bottom is a sheer silk blend. 

Of course I made room for branding.

I love the oval buttons - it makes the dress feel vintage-y.  The green buttons are from a local shop - Digs.

The green fabric was a little too sheer.  

For modesty's sake I had to whip up a little white slip to wear underneath the dress.

This dress was definitely a process.  It started out innocently enough - I was inspired by this dress we found at Macy's.

I loved the curved yoke, velvet and taffeta and the tasteful ruffles.

So...I picked up some flocked taffeta for 60% off at Joann Fabric.  It was my first experience sewing with taffeta.  I'm not very eager to try again!

The fabric was very stiff and though it's easy to work with - it doesn't drape AT ALL!

Here's the first attempt (IE: Taffeta Mess)

Yikes - I don't like showing my screw ups!  The stripes are wacky and the collar had a mind of it's own!  I showed it to my husband in a fit of exasperation and he said "Is that for Lucy?  It's 3 times her size?"  The skirt stuck out at a 45 degree angle all the way around!

So - out with the collar and in with the chiffon.  It was my first time sewing with chiffon and I LOVE IT!  It drapes so beautifully.  It frays and it's a pain to cut and sew because it's so slippery - but it's worth it.  

I love the end result.  One last parting shot:

I'm working on a not-quite-matching maternity top for me.  It uses the very last scraps of the same fabric.  I literally have nothing left of either fabric after these two creations.  My 3/4 sleeves were even cut on the cross grain - just so I could have enough fabric!

NOTE:  If anyone is interested I can post the pattern for the dress.  I think I'm going to call it GARDEN PARTY Yoke Dress.  It feels like it could work for any season.  

I only have the pattern for the size I made - 18 months.  

I haven't decided yet if I'll grade the pattern for larger/smaller sizes.  

The dress was very easy to make after the first disaster.