Turns out it can be over before the fat lady sings

A few weeks ago I went to the opera with a few friends. We went to see Händels Alcina at de Munt, and it was freaking amazing! Even the Belgian Queen made an appearance. I think we both enjoyed the costumes, although her seat was far superior to mine.

Of course we decided to really go for it with our outfits and take this outing as a great excuse to get all dressed up. So the boys donned suits and the girls were in fancy dresses and heels. What better excuse to make a party dress?

I have used this fabric before for a Sew it Up entry (it became a jacket you can see here). I loved the fabric (a loosely woven viscose/poly blend with metallic accents) and made sure to find some extra so I could definitely make a dress. I wanted something simple that would showcase the stripes without distorting them too much, and without too many seamlines (this fabric frays like crazy and I was worried a dress with too much piecing would just fall apart).

In the end I modified my bodice block to have a separate yoke with a curve in the front and a dip in the back. I used the same stretch lace for the yoke as on the Oonapalooza dress and finished it in exactly the same way (trimmed down regular bias tape to make it more narrow). I still have enough of this lace to make at least two more transparent yoke dresses, so I hope you're not tired of it yet!

I tried to match the stripes as closely as possible, which was more successful in some areas than others. I cut everything on a single layer, something my cat really loved. The skirt is just two rectangles sewed at the sides and pleated into the waist. I hemmed it with bias tape as well and managed a very invisible finish thanks to the loose weave of the fabric.

I'm not entirely convinced about how the top part looks on me, I think the curve could benefit from being a bit lower and straighter... Maybe I'll make a slightly tweaked version of this someday. For now I really loved wearing it though! Especially with the tiny velvet gold embroidered purse I found at a vintage shop that makes me feel Oh So Fancy even though it means storing all my stuff in my coat pockets.

I still have enough of the fabric left to make a few decorative pillows for the living room, but I fear my cat would rip them apart. He likes kneading blankets, pillows or humans before settling down on them and keeping any pillow away from this lovable old fart would feel criminal. Decisions decisions!