Thursday, May 29, 2014

Sewing: Gold and Ivory Dress for Audrey


As Audrey's birthday approached this year she informed me it was her "Golden Birthday". I had never heard of such a thing, but evidently it's a thing: 8 on the 8th in her case. Eight is also the year children are baptized into our church, so it is a special birthday we had been anticipating.


I had planned to make Audrey a white dress to celebrate her baptism (as my mother did for me, and is traditional) but when she mentioned her Golden Birthday and I happened to see this amazing gold and ivory jacquard fabric in my hunt for STYLO 2 fabrics, I thought an ivory and gold dress would be perfect for her!



Audrey had a lot of input on the design. I was inspired by this Jacadi dress to design a bodice with what I would call "raglan" sleeves, though that word doesn't seem pretty enough for a dress. And was thinking of a pleated skirt but Audrey didn't like the idea of pleats. So I made a paneled a-line skirt for the dress and added some gold piping for a little more contrast. 


I was so careful about measuring and cutting to get this dress just right. I lined it in the softest gold satin so it would be comfortable. I tried to match up the pattern...I really wanted it to be perfect. (It made me wonder what it might be like to sew wedding dresses for my girls. I wonder if I will do that someday?) But it turns out the metallic thread in this fabric has a mind of its own. When everything was sewn the fabric wanted to curve where it should have been straight, even after a good pressing. So the skirt "bells" a bit at the bottom. (I promptly ordered a book on couture sewing techniques--I bet there is a solution for stabilizing fabric such as this.) 

Oh well. Life is not perfect. But it is still beautiful. She looked beautiful...



(But she doesn't love having her picture taken.)

7 comments:

Emily said...

Gorgeous dress! And happy golden birthday and baptism Audrey!

kristin said...

Happy birthday, Audrey!! Love the gold dress so much - should've done this for Em's golden birthday this year! Gah!

Andrea U said...

You are amazing and that gold piping everyplace is stunning.

Dotted Whale said...

Happy Birthday Audrey! She is so beautiful. Hahaha, a golden birthday!! What's that?
The dress is beautiful.

White Feather said...

The dress is lovely and seems perfect for Audrey and her special occasions.

Anonymous said...

Pues te ha quedado prefecto y precioso y me parece ideal para la ceremonia, es un vestido muy fino. Un besito desde Sevilla. Ani.

Elasha said...

What a lovely dress! I think eighth birthdays and baptisms are pretty great days --

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