A Wedding Outfit

There's a parable in the Bible about wedding clothes: I don't quite remember how it goes*, but one of the main ideas is that you don't show up to weddings in old, nasty clothes--you go to a wedding wearing appropriate wedding garments.

I have always felt that one should show up at weddings in a Very Nice Outfit, especially when it's two of my good friends getting married and even more when I've been asked to be involved by making and standing by the guest book, as well as invited to the family/wedding party-only events.  So, I decided to make my Very Nice Outfit on my own.

A couple of months ago, I had purchased a beautiful orange and white silk twill because, well, it was beautiful and silky.  I had vague notions of a dress.  After searching through my patterns, I found a fun strapless dress, so I decided to tackle it, even though I was less than confident in my sewing skills.

The dress had boning, which was scary at first, but turned out to be fairly straightforward.  And I had to rip pieces out of the bodice a couple of times because I sewed them in the wrong way.  There was a moment of panic when I thought the bodice might be too snug on my waist.  But then it all came together and looked pretty good.

It's not perfect: a lacked a zipper foot, so the zipper is less than well placed.  I messed up a few other things, but overall, the dress was fun, and it was mine.  And the shrug I knit to go with it was quick to make, fun, and went really well with the dress, especially given that it was a little chilly at times during the wedding.

I think that this will not be my final attempt at homemade dresses.  I definitely learned a lot from making it, and I look forward to trying my hand out on some other items soon.

*I could look it up, but I am lazy this morning.