Have you ever had that fabric or yarn if you are a crocheter or whatever material you work with, that you thought wasn't beautiful enough to achieve an expected result but ended up blowing your mind when reluctantly giving it a trial not expecting much, this is the exact situation that brought about this beautiful dress you see below.
A close friend of mine, my neighbour actually has had this fabric sitting in her wardrobe for a long time, almost three years according to her, she didn't like the fabric at first sight but didn't have any choice but to buy it since it was sold as a means of support to a friend who had lost her mum, it is a common tradition here in my country if any of our friends or relative has an occasion to celebrate, either birthday, weddings, burial, etc, it is our custom for the celebrant to choose a given fabric which he or she sells almost double the price to friends and families, we make sure to buy to support them, we also sew and wear the same fabric to the commemorate the occasion, the reason why it is common to see people in the same color and type of fabric at any Nigerian party.
But my neighbour decided not to make a dress out of the fabric because she didn't like it and also because she couldn't make it to the event due to distance. So I convinced her to give it a trial, making a dress with it would be more useful than just storing it, and to me, the fabric wasn't looking bad, it just needed a creative touch to bring it alive, she even joked of not collecting the dress if she ends up still not liking the outcome of the dress I would make out of it. With full confidence, because I had already envisioned what I wanted to make with the fabric, I accepted the challenge.
Materials used
- Ankara fabric
- lining fabric
- Tulle
- Zipper
- Thread
Cutting and Sewing Process
Since I knew the dislike she already had for the fabric, I decided to add an extra touch of creativity to it to give it a more fancy look.
- First I started by drafting the upper and lower parts of the dress, I used a bustier pattern to cut out the upper side according to her measurement, while the lower part of the dress is a straight shirt pattern.
- I cut out strips from 5 yards of tulle and marked the front lower pattern which I would be sewing the tulle on
- I gathered the tulle and sewed them on the front part of the lower dress pattern forming different arrays.
- Next, I joined turned all patterns with their lining part, joining the upper part of the dress to the lower part.
- I also attached a zipper to the back.
- For the sleeves, I cut out 20" in width on fold, by 45" length, marked, and sewed 1" in between while leaving half an inch in between them, that is how I firmed this sleeve also known as Bible or drum sleeves by some.
Finally, I attached them to the dress, and here is the final look.
I teased my friend to let me have the dress since she doesn't like the fabric, you should see the way she grabbed it out of my hands quickly to try it on, and yes she is happy to have a new beautiful dress, instead of the plain fabric she held on to fir three years not sure of what to do with it, I'm glad I could be of help in providing that solution.
This further shows that there is beauty in everything and everyone, sometimes, we just need to look beyond the superficial.
Thank you for reading.❤❤
All images used in this post are mine.