Today I’m sharing something special with you: the first dress I ever made, a little over a year ago. I first discovered the indie pattern community through some of the Art Gallery Fabrics designers, and the Date Night Dress by April Rhodes seemed like something I could handle at that time. And those big romantic sleeves were just perfect. So I went ahead and ordered some of this beautiful Art Gallery voile, designed by Bonnie Christine – it’s still one of my favourite fabric designs.
The Date Night Dress has a simple silhouette, except for the big sleeves that define the whole look. It’s pretty wide, so it doesn’t need any buttons or a zipper. The centre back features an inverted box pleat. The armholes are very wide, so the dress is designed to be worn with a simple slip underneath. The pattern for the slip is included in the pattern for the Date Night Dress, but I haven’t made it, I’m usually just wearing a basic tank top underneath. The dress has also a slight high-low hem, something I really like.
I remember how excited I was about making a DRESS, and I remember all the little mistakes I made. First of all I managed to cut the back of the dress upside down – I had no idea that I had to pay attention to the pattern. It sounds ridiculous now, just a year later.
I had to cut the back one more time, but didn’t have quite enough of the fabric. I had to add a little triangle to one lower corner. It’s not really showing, since I actually pattern matched (!!) the triangle to the main fabric piece. I am not sure if I’d have the patience to pattern match a fabric like that today, to be honest…
Otherwise I remember having a some trouble hemming the round sleeves and the neckline, you can see that the neckline is a little wrinkled. And I have no idea whether the hemline is even even!
But nevertheless – this is a dress that I’ve been wearing a lot. It’s a great reminder of the fact that not everything as to be flawless to be worn a lot at to be a favourite. And I’m so glad I could finally share it with you!
Chapeau! Dein erstes Kleid ist definitiv ein Meisterstück! Du hast den perfekten Schnitt für diesen Stoff gewählt. Ein Schnitt, der dir echt toll steht. Und es scheint, dass du etliche Dinge auf einmal gelernt hast in diesem ersten Stück.
Gratuliere zu deinem Mut, Durchhaltewillen und Ehrgeiz!
Liebe Grüsse
Eveline
Vielen lieben Dank, Eveline! Ich weiß noch ganz genau, wie aufregend das vor einem Jahr war! Das mit dem perfekten Schnitt für den Stoff muss ein glücklicher Zufall gewesen sein, so genau konnte ich das damals ja noch alles gar nicht! 😉
Definitely more chic and put together than the first dress I ever made. Impressive!
Habe you so much, Carmen! I think this was a great pattern to get started, although didn’t really know that at that time… 😉
Wow! So wunderschön! Ja, manchmal werden genau diese Lehrstücke zu den liebsten, weil sie Geschichte haben. Und der Stoff ist ein Traum und in der Kombi mit dem Kleid und dir einfach perfekt!
Glg Kathrin
Vielen lieben Dank! Mit der Stoff- und Schnittkombination habe ich damals wirklich Glück gehabt!
What a lovely first dress! It looks superb, despite your little struggles. Who can notice little mistakes when your smile is so big? Thanks for sharing xox
Thank you so much, Helen! I guess I’m the only one looking that closely anyway… 😉 the dress always remembers me of how far I’ve come since I started sewing!
Kjempe fin kjole og helt utrolig at dette er den første du lagde! Du er så flink!! 🙂
Tusen takk!! Den var jo heldigvis veldig enkelt, jeg hadde nok gått på en smell med noe mer avansert enn denne!
Such a lovely first dress! Love the pictures too!
Thank you, Emily! My husband did a great job taking these pics. =)
Honestly it looks totally lovely! Well done! Funnily enough I made an April Rhodes Staple Dress from this very fabric…then never wore it and gave it to a friend. Suits you down to the ground though!
Thank you so much! I also have a view things that I don’t really wear… maybe I should give them away, too! I put way too much into them to have them lying around in my closet…
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