This was such a fun dress to sew. It's one of those pieces that you can't wait to be done with because you know it's going to be so fabulous. 

The pattern is Simplicity 9114 and my fabric is Aisha All Over Sequin Floral Embroidery Mesh.

This was dress was fits somewhat oversized. It was designed to be worn as duster or dress, so it has a little more ease than a normal shirt dress would. I didn't make any fit adjustments. This one worked for me straight out of the envelope.

This wasn't necessarily a difficult sew, but it was tedious because I had to take my time sewing it. It's not a zip through project. I cut everything out on a single layer. I used my walking foot and size 100/16 ball point needle. 

I didn't interface the collar or the front bands. And I left the cuffs off. I lengthened the sleeves by 4 inches and added 1/2" elastic. The worst part of sewing this was gathering the tiers. I used the yarn method for that. But it felt like it took forever.

I didn't do any seam finishing. I just trimmed the seams down and I left the hem raw.

In my past life, I never made anything for Valentine's Day. I was simply never moved to do so. But this year, so much in my life has changed -- for the better, that I decided, what the hell! Treat Yo Self, girl!

In celebration of the Winter Solstice, why not a fabulous winter white evening gown? If 2020, has taught me anything, it's taught me that life is short and I need to be living it to the fullest instead of waiting for the right occasion. So, when I saw my good friend Kim's version of this dress, I knew I had to dig out this pattern and make my own. 

This is McCall's 8037, view B. My fabric is stretch crepe in solid white from Joann.

I made my normal adjustments: I lengthened the front bodice and adjusted the back for my sway back.

So, Tuesday, September 22nd was my 50th birthday. It took me a week to process it and all that has happened. Since my 49th birthday, so much in my life has changed... for the better. After several YEARS of deep contemplation, I decided to end my marriage during Summer of 2019. December 6, 2019, I packed up and moved to Auburn, AL to be near Mikaela. I needed rest, relaxation and a reset. After 3 months, the pandemic hit and it was the best thing to happen to me. The entire world slowed down to a pace that met my own. I enjoyed the stillness. Since March, I've done a lot of soul searching and reflecting regarding who I am and who I want to be in this new stage of life. Knowing that I made the best possible decision for myself, I'm not bitter, jaded, sad or angry. I'm excited! I'm excited about new beginnings and fresh starts. I'm even dating, during the pandemic! Navigating this has been super tricky and interesting. It takes getting to know someone, their habits and whether or not they are strongly "Covid Conscious". With everything that is going on in the world, this has been the year that I needed and hopefully, it will end on a high note. I'm looking forward to 2021.

I haven't been inspired to make a birthday dress in a longtime. I'd had this pattern, Vogue 1692 since it came out. It had always been my intention to take the pattern and just make it into a casual racerback style maxi dress. But why? Why not create what it was intended to be? Something glamorous.

This is a really simple pattern that sews quickly, but it required a lot of alterations for me. Here is my FBA and the one inch length at the waist. 

Every now and then, I need to cut the damn fabric and sew the damn dress! It doesn't matter whether or not I have a specific place to wear it. Because that's always the number one question: "Where are you going to wear that??" My answer: Around my house... To the grocery store... Anywhere... and Everywhere I'd like. Sometimes, I just want to sew something because I CAN and it makes ME happy. No other reason required.

This project was already on my cutting table when True Bias and Closet Case Patterns decided to host the Sew Frosting Challenge. It's basically just sewing all of that "impractical" shit you've dreamed of sewing or cutting that fancy fabric just for the unbridled joy of it. So, what better confection to whip up than a full-length evening gown... a backless, shiny one at that!

My pattern is vintage Vogue 2230 - by Isaac Mizrahi that was released in 1998. 

It's from his Fall 1997 ready-to-wear collection.

My fabric is Black Jersey Knit with All-Over Circle Sequins from Mood Fabrics. I used the white version of this fabric for Vogue 8961, earlier this year. When I posted this dress on Instagram, I was asked how difficult is this fabric to sew? It's not. It's jersey with flat, round sequins. I used my sharp needle and my walking foot with the lightening bolt/stretch stitch. I only originally bought around 2 yards of this fabric, so I used a slinky stretch jersey for the sleeves.

I cut the size 14 and I added 5 inches to the length. I was surprised at how long the sleeves were. At first, I thought my fabric had some how stretch out. 

But I looked at the envelope and saw how the sleeves were slouching at the wrists of the model. The raglan sleeves have darts at the shoulder and the armholes are finished with 1/4" elastic.

The elastic is carried around the entire back opening as well.

The collar has 3 hook and eyes closure.

Even though I cut my normal size, I found that the dress was a little big at the waist. I'm thinking it was because of the weight of the fabric. So I had to go back and take in the center back seam. And I left the hem unfinished because I like the way the fabric drapes and it looks perfect from being cut with a rotary cutter. Before you even ask about a bra... I'm not wearing one.

Cheers to the ladies for organizing and encouraging the Sew Frosting Challenge. And just like there shouldn't be a special occasion for drinking champagne, there shouldn't be one either for sewing up something fabulous.