DIY Dress: Silk Sensation

Last night I finally debuted my new frock, a shimmering raw silk dress that took me a couple of months to get together. I wanted to finish it for Eid but ran out of time. It's a very sturdy fabric which has a natural crinkle and if you look close up you can admire the sequin details...

I picked up the fabric in Khushboo Textile in Birmingham, a luxury haberdashery that specialises in bespoke fabrics. The owner Imran can arrange to have fabric dyed and embroidered to your specifications but they also stock some rather stunning rolls of fabric you can buy by the metre and Asian suit fabrics. It took me a while to decide what to make with it but in the end as I mostly like wearing dresses I decided to make what I would consider my own kind of party wear.

The tough part was making a paper pattern. It was adapted from the block of the last dress I made but this one had more pieces and a much wider skirt.

It then took me a whole day to cut the pieces out from fabric.

One of the design features is that the shape of the neck is different at the front and back.

For the front I created a square shaped neck...

And for the back a round neck.

I particularly love how the skirt flares out.

Now it's done I'm already thinking about my next project. I want to make a crystallised velvet bolero so am looking out for shapes to get inspired by. I probably won't have time to start it until November but fingers crossed I'll get it sewn in time for the real party season!

You can visit Khushboo Textiles in Ladypool Road, Birmingham.