Christmas party dress! Tutorial for a lace "Ella"
Christmas is just around the corner and I really wanted to wear a festive, homemade dress on the holidays this year. So I modified our jersey dress "Ella CLASSIC" a little bit and provided it with great lace. In my sewing instructions I'll show you exactly how to do that.
Already the holidays are fast approaching... we hope you are all feeling the festive spirit, rather than the pre-Christmas stress!? With Christmas parties and other festive meetings all lined up for the coming weeks, we thought we should share a dress Ina recently made for her festive engagements...
You may already have seen a post on the German blog showing a dress with lace over the top of the bodice,...
...but this time the dress is entirely made from a stretch lace fabric...lined with a matching viscose jersey.
Ina was inspired by the pattydoo Nähforum which, as you may know, has an English language version, the pattydoo Sewing Club. We're always so excited to see the creative things you make and do with our sewing patterns! We can't remember who was first to post the lace variation, but it was straight to the top of the office 'must sew' list ;)
So to make a lace dress like the one shown here, you'll need the pattern for our jersey dress "Ella" a stretch lace fabric and a solid jersey fabric. To begin, cut all of the dress pieces from the stretch lace and, from the jersey, cut everything except for the sleeves, which will be made only from lace.
Lace dress sewing tutorial
All the following sewing steps are illustrated in the graphic below (click to enlarge) and further notes are also here:
1. Sew the shoulder and side seams of the jersey bodice together with a long straight stitch.
2. Try the jersey bodice on (preferably whilst wearing the bra you intend to wear with the finished dress) and use chalk or a marker to draw on the neckline you wish to have on the front and back. If possible, get someone to help you do this.
Take the bodice off and smooth out the lines, so that it will be symmetrical and the front and back pieces will match up at the sides. Cut the top along the lines you have drawn and then undo the side seams, so you once more have separate front and back pieces.
3. Lie the jersey bodice pieces, right sides up, and align the lace bodice pieces over the top, so right side of the jersey is facing the wrong side of the lace. Once the pieces are aligned, sew the top edge of the jersey to the lace, using a straight stitch and leaving only a small seam allowance. (Jersey doesn't necessarily need to be finished to prevent fraying)
4. Sew the lace bodice together at the shoulder seams. Sew in the sleeves and close the side seams. You can finish the neckline with a strip of jersey, using the technique detailed here. Finish the sleeves with a cover or zig-zag stitch.
5. Cut the lace skirt 2 cm (3/4") longer than usual then sew and hem both the lace and jersey skirts separately.
6. Finally, sew each of the skirts to the bodice waist layers.
Lace fabrics
When choosing your lace fabric, make sure that it has at least a 5% elastane content, otherwise it probably won't stretch enough.
Ina's party outfit
To add the finishing touch to the outfit, a Bowie clutch was of course in order, in this case a silver faux leather version - it's the perfect size and matches most styles.
So let the parties begin! Chic and simple - just as we like it!
What do you think? Do you like the idea of a lace dress? We promise it's not difficult!
We look forward to seeing your finished party dresses! Remember to share your creations in the pattydoo Sewing Club.
Happy sewing!
Rebecca
Beautiful!