LBD

The common mantra seems to be that a Little Black Dress is essential and not to have one is, well, faux pas. If that's true, my wardrobe has been incomplete for quite some time. My wardrobe's unstable state was fine with me, but I had a limited amount of this wonderful white and black patterned cotton that I wanted to put to good use.

To use the fabric, I decided to sew my own version of the LBD and fill its void. While it obviously isn't entirely black, it's black that has been accented with white. I used New Look's 6723 for the bodice and then drafted everything else myself.



The top half is made from that patterned cotton with beige lining (recycling my leftovers). The bottom half is made from black silk dupioni. Following the technique found from here, I simultaneously underlined and seam finished the silk dupioni with organza. The organza reinforces the seams and also allows the exterior layer to retain the crisp shape that I had envisioned for the skirt portion. It worked perfectly!



I drew my own leaf-shaped collar pieces and then hand-stitched them onto the collar into a necklace-like shape. After that, I sewed tiny black beads and faceted beads onto the ends of the leaves. They blend with the fabric, so you may have to go hunting in the photo for them.



I can also either tie the sashes into a bow in the back or bring them around and tie them in the front.




Overall, I'm pretty pleased with it!