Every year at Alt Summit there’s a big party one of the nights. This year it was sponsored by Cricut and the theme was “Green,” meaning you had to wear something in any shade of green. A few days after the theme was announced, Liz from Cotton and Curls posted a sheath dress tutorial, and I instantly had the idea to make a dress like hers, but half black and half green sequins.
The whole idea came together flawlessly over the next few months with a trip to the LA fabric district where I scored the most amazing green sequin fabric at Michael Levine, and then discovered an old black dress in my refashion pile that turned out to be the perfect base for this dress. The rest is history.
Because I wasn’t making the dress from scratch, it came together really quickly and easily, and if I can find some other good dresses in my pile or at the thrift store, I’ll definitely be doing this again. (If I can find a good floral for the front, maybe even a similar dress to this gorgeous Stella McCartney dress that Rachel wore here…)!
- fitted dress (stretchy or not, with or without a zipper. Mine was a slightly stretchy blend with a long zipper down the back).
- 1 yard sequin fabric (any fabric works as long as it has some stretch).
- matching thread
- super strong machine needle
1. Start with a fitted dress, stretchy or not.
2. Cut up the sides and across the shoulders, cutting the dress in half. If it has sleeves, cut those off as well. Now you’ll have two pieces, a front and a back, which will look like the #3 illustration.
3. Lay the cut out front of your dress out on your sequin fabric, pin it down, and then cut around it (adding a 1/2 inch seam allowance as you cut). Make sure the stretch of your fabric is going across the dress.
4. With right sides together, attach the original back and the sequin front, sewing up the sides and at the shoulders.
5. Cut the sleeves out of the sequin fabric (using a short sleeved shirt as a pattern, if needed). Make sure the stretch goes across the sleeves. Then cut the neckline lining using the fabric from the front of the original dress. Cut it to be the same shape as the dress neckline, but one inch shorter on either end and about 2 inches wide.
6. With right sides together (which is not obvious in the illustration — sorry!) sew the sleeves closed.
7. Insert them into the arm holes of the dress (with right sides together, lining up the armpit seams), and sew around the arm hole with a straight stitch.
8. Once both sleeves are attached, your dress should look like this.
9. Pin the neckline lining to the dress neckline with right sides together. Match up the ends of the lining with the shoulders of the dress, stretching the lining to make it work. With a straight stitch, sew across the lining (stretching in between pins), stretching as you sew. Then flip the lining inside of the dress and pin into place.
10. Stitch across the neckline, securing the lining in place, and then hem your sleeves and skirt to your desired length and you’re done!
As always, comment with any questions! Happy Friday, and Happy Sewing!
First of all, you look stunningly gorgeous in this dress! I love how you styled your hair & did your makeup – wow!!! Second, I am so impressed with your sewing skills and I so appreciate you sharing your tutorials with us 🙂
http://www.pennypincherfashion.com
That dress looks absolutely stunning on you!!
Have a great weekend!
The Style Storm
<3, Christina
The dress was even prettier in person 🙂 I'm so impressed that you made it!
HOW do you do your hair? It's looks amazing!!
This is with a 1 1/2 inch barrel curling iron, just curling big sections super loosely. Then pin up the front, teasing it a bit underneath so it's taller!
This is so gorgeous on you!! Love love love.
Kristina does the Internets
If the rest of the black dress is in good shape (the front piece) you could do another dress with a fun fabric in the back too.
Surprise! I didn't know the back was black. 🙂 So pretty!
Really pretty!
http://www.lovelydoesit.com
This is insanely good!! I love how bold this dress is!
I'm in-love with this look. So bold yet so classy! How long have you been sewing? I am a super beginner and I don't know how well I'd be able to put something like this together… but thanks for the tutorial so I can try 🙂
I took sewing lessons when I was 11 until I was 14, which gave me a good base knowledge. I didn't sew hardly a stitch again until about 5 years ago, and then only started sewing seriously within the last 2 years or so. Just keep practicing and you'll get better!
Great dress and I'm loving your subtle ombre hair.
I absolutely love this outfit and the tutorial is great, such a simple and wonderful update!
xo, Ashleigh @ Fashion in Flight
Did you line the green sequin fabric or just do a neckline facing?
Thanks! Love this look!
-Annika
http://www.marriedandbright.com
Just a neckline facing. The sequin backing is a little bit sheer, but with all the sequins on top it's 100% opaque. But if your sequin fabric is sheer at all, you'll obviously want to line the whole thing (or wear a full slip!)
I'm in total awe that you created the sequin panel all on your own! The dress looks fantastic!
LOVE IT! This dress is so stunning! The tutorial is super easy to follow as well. I didn't even need to read the steps after it. You are such a talented artist and seamstress. Thanks for this amazing tutorial!
I sized the dress according to the sizing chart and it fits! I will get it tailored slightly now that it has arrived, thought the company was very willing to work with my measurements to get me my perfect fit.
Kate Spade Baby Bag
Wonderful!
http://www.thetouristoflife.com
This is gorgeous! That fabric was an amazing find, I love that the you left the back black too.
Wow Merrick! The dress is amazing and you look drop dead gorgeous!
If only I was talented enough to do this!
http://kacieskloset.blogspot.com/
Beautiful! You look stunning in that dress Merrick.
Hi. Great site. What’s the best way of resizing when there are sequins on the shoulder seem please? How do I secure the sequins and beads that are left? Thanks
Some people recommend unpicking all the sequins, then sewing the seam, and then re-attaching all the sequins. That’s way too much work for me though, so I just use a tough needle and sew right over them 😉 Good luck!
Lovely dress! 🙂
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