Mother of the Groom Dress, Yes, I made it!

Silly me, decided to go ahead and make my own formal dress as the mother of the groom from Simplicity pattern D0685. Just sort of played around with it and decided on a combination of the three dresses. I wish I could say this was easy. Which it was not bad sewing together, but it took a while to finish.

Decided on a copper satin, golden tulle, and a vintage looking lace overlay. Although it was not a goal of mine, it was definitely very "steam punk." In fact, at the wedding reception, had a young lady ask if it was a steam punk dress.

Sewed the bodice together. One thing that became important to me, was to try to match up the lace on the seams. Very hard and I did not meet that goal a few times. 

I had to cut the pattern out for three different types of material: the satin, then the tulle, and on top was the lacy material. Hard to see the golden sparkle tulle in the pictures, but it was there.

As I was sewing this together, I thought I would possibly add some lace around the waist. I actually harvested this lace from a old wedding dress a friend had given me. Used some RIT dye to change the color to brown.  

Unfortunately the brown did not match the copper of the dress. 

Since it was not a perfect match, decided not to use the lace. But it was so pretty, I may start another project. 

Next sewed the darts into the skirt. Then sew the skirt pieces together.

This is what was done so far. Really would make a cute cocktail dress with the right bra. I probably should delete this picture, but really want you to see how it looked before adding the mermaid part of the skirt.

Next I installed my zipper. Sewed the bottom part of the skirt on. Added the inside lining. Just warning you, this dress does not work without the inside linking...at least not for me. I decided to sort of contrast the bottom of the skirt with the rest of the dress by not adding the lace overlay, it was just satin and tulle. I added a cape over each shoulder from the lacy material to hide my flawless shoulders. The dress was so pretty. I may try to sell it on ebay as a steam punk wedding dress. I think I overdid it, but it was a great experience and would love to sew another formal dress some day.

I checked on Amazon and found a link to the pattern, if anyone is interested. I so love this gown!

Simplicity D0685 Bridal Wedding Gown Bridemaid Dress Prom Dress Sewing Pattern Size P5 (12-14-16-18-20)

Simplicity D0685 Bridal Wedding Gown Bridemaid Dress Prom Dress Sewing Pattern Size D5 (4-6-8-10-12)

Upcycle! The past is still useful!