The dress is actually a Jessica McClintock prom
gown that I slightly modified. If you decide to go this route
for garb, I recommend finding a dress with a
boned
bodice, and long full skirt. The only things
I did to the store-bought "base" dress were adding a stomacher, blouse
and accessories. The directions for making the stomacher are below.
Directions
Materials
The first thing you will need is some cheap material
to make a pattern from. I used $1 a yard muslin.
Get a couple yards - it took me three tries to get
it right!
To make the stomacher you will need a piece of
fabric in a complementary color, about a yard should suffice. You will
also need a few yards of embroidered ribbon. I got mine at JoAnn fabrics.
Now, for the pattern: lay a piece of muslin over the bodice of the dress. You will want to put in a couple pins to keep it in place. Make sure to give yourself a bit of slack as the bodice gets stretched out when you put the dress on. Trace the boning of the bodice onto the muslin. You may also want to add small extensions that go up the straps, as I did. Add about an inch and a half to two inches at top and bottom edges to allow you to wrap the ends around the eadges of the bodice for a clean finish. Cut out the pattern and put the dress on. Re-pin the pattern to the bodice. Look for where the fabric is streched, goes beyond the boning, or is short. Be sure to mark these points! If you have few errors, you may wish to proceed to cutting the stomacher material, otherwise, as I did, try again! It doens't need to be perfect - the edges will be covered by the trim.
Construction
Cutting and placing the stomacher is easy enough.
I just hand sewed the material to the dress, just inside the boning lines,
however, you don't stitch the top at this time. Once it is in place,
you will want to wrap the ends over the top of the bodice and stich it
to the inside - stitch a bit loosely, you can always go back and firm it
up, but this is where the fabric stretches and you want to have room to
put little cuts and be able to stitch them down so it stays even.
At the bottom of the bodice, since the boning comes to a point, I wrapped
the fabric around and stitched it together to the inside of the bodice.
Now comes the fun part - putting on the ribbon. Measure the ribbon (the easiest way is to put the dress on and just run a length of ribbon down the appropriate seam) and cut it with pinking shears or hem the ends. If you use the type of ribbon I did, the ends will fray quickly if you don't secure them. Using small stitches in a matching thread color, sew the ribbon over the boning and raw ends of the stomacher material. Again, wrap the ends around and stitch down. Finally, you will want to cover the zipper in the back. The easiest way to do this is to use eyelets on the sides of the zipper (careful, on this dress there were several layers of fabric) and put lacing or thin cording through them.
For final details, see my accessories page for hints on hats, pouches, shoes etc.<
There - you have finished with you first dress!