My first patternless dress and Lady Anne

Before I show you my dress I made, I want to introduce you to someone important. This is lady Anne of course. You might be able to guess why I named her this; like the infamous Anne Boleyn, neither has a head.  Also The Tudors is one of my favourite series :)

She is wearing my old swimsuit for modesty. 

Anne helped me out a lot with the construction of this dress. To make this dress, I sewed two pieces of fabric up the side and pinned to Anne until it fit her, then resewed the seams there. I made it a one shoulder dress too, then stuck a ruffle on top. I love ruffles.

I highly reccommend Anne as a model. She is very skilled in that she can stand still for a really long time, doesn't need to move to scratch, doesn't need coffee breaks, and you don't have to pay her double time and a day in lieu on a public holiday. In fact, she works for free!!! What a champion!

Front view

So today as my photographer (boyfriend) was away, I stood in as photographer, and Anne volunteered to model for me. She is wearing my new red boots and a matching belt from an op shop.

This fabric was from Spotlight, it was a dollar a metre. It is a cotton drill I think. It has the drill lines on the bias, has a nice heavy drape and is a bit stretchy. As it was so cheap I bought the rest of the roll. Then I had to try and smuggle it in to the house without the boy seeing. (I am not supposed to buy any more fabric as I have too much already, and when I make or buy something I am supposed to throw an item out as I also have too many clothes, so I have to be sneaky and crafty). I also bought plenty of length in a bright red and dark blue at the same time. I think it will be a great fabric for making winter dresses from.

Ruffle close up

 I didn't really know how to make a ruffle then, so I cut lots of rainbowish shapes and sewed them side by side. It worked well except it means you can see the seams. Oh well. I now know to make a ruffle, you cut a spiral shape.

back view

 As the dress had no darts, it was a little shapeless, so I cinched it in either side of the centre back and put some stitches in to hold it together. When I don't wear a belt, I will wear a brooch there as I like how it looks all radiating out.

My boyfriend came home, so he kindly took a picture for me. I am wearing a dark purple belt from an op shop and my favourite brown boots.