Sometimes you see a fabric and you think wow. I love it… then, you stumble across the designer dress and you say, oh yes I like that!!
This Zadig and Voltaire dress is £755 featuring a beautiful handkerchief hem, shirred sleeves and button neckline. It looks like it’s been made out of crepe but the material I found was a satin replica without the brand name featured on the fabric. It’s also much brighter as satin is great for taking colour, which is more my style.
So I bought 2 yards of the dark navy (it was sold in 1 yard or 1.5 yard increments and also comes on a white base) then reached for my trusty M7948 bodice hack. You remember, I moved the keyhole to the front? Perfect for this dress. And the boxy silhouette is great for dinner parties and dancing. It’s another slight variation on my previous versions.
I created a longer skirt than M7948 with an added frill at the hem, by using the Emery dress skirt pieces and two long long long rectangle of fabric for the frill. Gathering all that frill to attach was tiring. I like to use the two rows of gathering stitches method but nothing could have sped this up. The effect is perfect though.
For the neckline I cut down the facing to just the shape of the keyhole area, stitched right sides together around the marked triangle, snipped down the centre front and turned through. For a neat finish I under-stitched each side and basted around the neckline to hold it in place. Then I made bias binding using my favourite machine for the neckline.
I chose a beloved button from Jimi’s Aunt’s collection which came to me when she passed. It sparkles much prettier in person. I sewed one side of the bias tape then added the loop to the end of the neckline before wrapping the rest of the bias over the top. It’s handsewn in place to avoid snagging the fabric.
Did you see my tips for snag prone fabric on Instagram? It saved this dress and has helped on viscose and cotton lawn in the past.
My sleeves are just lengthened from the original pattern versions and then elasticated at the hem. And the neckline button can be worn undone but I prefer it fastened. It’s going to be such a good dress this Christmas!
Oh! Those crazy horses! Who sang that song? Maybe a bit before your time . Bright, popping fabric. Nice and loose design, perfect for Christmas indulging.