Friday, June 5, 2009

Nickie's Dinner Dance Dress (M5382 & 5669) - Final Chapter

At last, I'm finally able to post the Dinner Dance Dresses that I made for my niece and her friend Rihanna. They looked very beautiful today. Caution: The post is image heavy. The reviews of my sewing experience follow.




My niece, Dominique, in M5382



Rihanna, Dominique friend in B4731.


Pretty Feet and shoes.

Dominique's Jacket is made from M5669.



Everyone is happy! Me and the ladies.


Review of Dominique's outfit:


Pattern Description: MISSES'S DRESS AND SASH: Close-fitted, fully lined dress with princess seam on bodice, gathered at waistline and front pleated over bodice, back zipper closing; dresses A, C have shoulder straps; dress B has waist and lower edge with lace trim; dress C has skirt with drape detail and sash; dresses A, B, C are below mid-knee lengths.

Pattern Sizing: size 4 to 18; I made view A with Sash size 8.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Pretty much.

Were the instructions easy to follow? No problems, easy.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? We liked everything about the design. The pattern was not difficult to sew and the alterations: minor. It's wonderful sewing for the young and kinda flat. ;-) I have no dislike. But a few observations:

The pleated front bodice may require some interfacing for crispness. My version is made of dutchess satin. I didn't add interfacing, but tacked the pleated front bodice to the inside bodice to keep it in place. Second, the front skirt has fewer gathers than the back. On the envelope photo, the gathers appear to be evenly formed through the front and back.

Fabric Used:; dutchess satin and nice polyester lining.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: I should have cut it at size 8 to begin with. So altering the muslin, I decided to cut it a size 8, which gave her the needed ease through the bodice and I added about an inch to the top of the inner bodice. We were a little short on length of fabric; so the sash is about 5 inches shorter than the drafted pattern.

More detailed on alterations and changes here

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others? Probably not. I made this dress from niece and don't plan to make it for myself or DD.

Conclusion: I recommend this pattern to others. It's perfect for a prom dress. It's not difficult to sew and yields very nice results.

My Flickr Set on the making of the outfit

Jacket Review:

I made this jacket (view-C without the ribbon closure) for my niece. It compliments the dress made from M5382-A. I will review it later. This outfit was finished a little over a month ago. My niece will wear it to her 8th grade dinner dance on June 5th. I'll post the event photo later; today I wanted to post some reviews as I have many. I started with making a muslin several months ago. Then in March I made the actual outfit out of the fashion fabric. My review is below.

Pattern Description: MISSES’ JACKETS: Loose fitting, unlined jacket ends at waist and has neck ruffles, snap closure at neck and sleeve variations; jackets B, C have ribbon bow; jacket C has ribbon binding.

Pattern Sizing: 4 to 18, I cut between a 6 and 8.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? Yes, for the most part.

Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, they were.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern? I picked this jacket to complete the outfit, and my sister approved it. What we liked about the design was the ruffled neckline. Pretty and appropriate for the occasion. My niece liked it too, which was a plus. Young ladies can be hard to please. :-) My dislike from a seamstress point of view was the application of the ruffle. I didn't like the finished inside of the neckline. I couldn't sew perfect seams. So the stitching lines were not perfectly uniform. To help make myself feel better I added bias tape to the inside of the neckline

Fabric Used:Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made: There were only a few alteration and design changes.
- Added bias tape to inside neckline
- Omitted the ribbon and snap closures at the neckline
- Added 1/4" to the length of the shoulder seam.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?Conclusion: Nice little jacket that produce satisfactory results. It even pleased a 13 year old. I think a beginner could make this jacket.

29 comments:

  1. They look so cute. Loving the dresses so cute. Great job there. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Both of the little ladies look beautiful! You did a wonderful job on their dresses!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a wonderful set of dresses you made! The girls look smashing and soo happy! Awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Seeing young ladies get all dressed up is so exciting. I'm sure Dominique and Rihanna felt as wonderful as they looked!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Such beautiful dresses and photographs, I bet they both had a lovely time.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Beautiful dresses. I love the little jackets.

    ReplyDelete
  7. *gasp* Oh what a beautiful thing you have done Cennetta!! To see such lovely young women in well-fitted and well-constructed gowns is a joy. I love the shot of all three of you- your smiles say it all.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Colors and the ruffles are lovely. You did an amazing job! The girls look radiant!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I can't wait to make prom dresses! I love the dresses and jacket is wonderful. These young ladies are so fortunate to have you!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beautiful girls in beautiful dresses - it's a perfect picture!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Great dresses! I think I see another photographer, straining for a photo, in one of your shots. Do two simultaneous photographers qualify as paparazzi? "Who are you wearing? Who are you wearing?" ;)

    ReplyDelete
  12. They look beautiful in their dresses. You did a great job.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow! You are so cute! What a lovely job, the dresses are so pretty.
    Looking at the photos I felt all excited for you all - as if I had been there. I was ooh-ing and aahh-ing. he he he
    I absolutely love the last pic of the three of you! Very inspiring, thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Beautiful dresses! Both girls look lovely. You should be very proud of yourself!

    ReplyDelete
  15. They both look gorgeous, I love you nieces's hair.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! You made the perfect colors and styles! You are such a blessing to them I'm sure!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Job well done. The color and fit of the dresses is fantastic!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Both of the girls and the dresses are just beautiful! Wish I had girls to sew for.

    ReplyDelete
  19. You did a fantastic job and they look lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  20. What beautiful dresses! You did a wonderful job finding the balance between stylish and tasteful. (I'm already worrying about that mix and mine's only 7!) The ruffles on the lavendar jacket are too cute!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Both look beautiful! You did excellent work!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Both look stunning! Congratulations on the excellent work!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Two beautiful ladies! And a third very happy of her work!
    Those dresses are really great.

    ReplyDelete
  24. They both look gorgeous! You are so generous to have made them such wonderful outfits for their dance.

    ReplyDelete
  25. You did a fabulous job on both dresses and the girls look so happy...

    ReplyDelete
  26. Awww! These girls are so lovely and their dresses are fabulous. Do they text while you fit them?!

    ReplyDelete
  27. Thanks everyone!
    Everyone was happy that day, including the parents. Thank you Jesus!
    Antionette - We did have a paparazzi. Tee hee
    Lindsay T - No they did not text during fitting. I require undivided attention. lol.

    Thanks again, everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Oh, they both look beautiful! What a great job - they fit very nice and I'm sure Rhianna was thrilled to have a dress that fit her and was so nicely made. What a fun evening for all.

    ReplyDelete
  29. They both look so happy! If you can satisfy 13 year olds, you can do anything. Good job!

    ReplyDelete

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin