Dresses for Tehya

A couple of months ago I decided that Tehya is wonderful and beautiful, and she needs a dress.

First of all, I was being a little selfish.  Basically, I was tired of thinking of clothes to put on an amazon woman (myself).  Looking at my 5 foot and 2 inch friend, I can see so many possibilities.  Boatneck dresses.  Cute short cocktail dresses.  Things that aren't v-necks.  The list could go on, but I'll just stop being creepy.

The thought instantly came to me.  I wanted to make Tehya a one shouldered Latin dress with an asymmetrical hem with sort of a wing on it, for lack of a better phrase.  This might seem like a a really detailed instant thought, but when my imagination is given something that isn't a girl with shoulders like a swimmer, it just runs with it.

As an aside, when I say Latin dress, I mean ballroom dance Latin dress.  For those who don't know what that means, it means being really sexy and awesome on the dance floor.  Familiarize yourself.

In case you couldn't tell, this looks nothing like her body type and a whole lot like mine.

So anyway.  I drew some pictures, told her about it, and she got really excited.  Then I got scared.  I am in no way qualified to make this dress.  There's like no way she's going to like it, and then she is going to hate me for the rest of forever.


With my friendship on the line, we went to the fabric store and got some blue [insert the type of fabric here that I should know if I looked at the tag] fabric.  Just to make sure it flowed well while dancing, we ran around Joann with a giant bolt of fabric yelling "IS IT FLOWY???"  It was.

Pretend this is royal blue

I "used" McCalls M6556 for a pattern because I was scared of going solo.  Really, I took out the pattern, looked at their lines, adjusted them, cut out the fabric, and then chopped some parts off.  So I guess I used the pattern?  I used the neckline from a shirt I already had to make the one shouldered part, and the hem I just kind of messed with until it looked right.  I started with the hem longer than I expected it to be so I could just keep chopping it off until it looked okay.  I wouldn't suggest being this haphazard with sewing.  My mother always said "measure twice cut once."  Well, I think I just cut about 18 times.

I cut out two of the above pieces and sewed them together along the left size (the side without the wing).  For the rest of the sewing, I just had Tehya come over and fit it to her. 

I tried to avoid putting a zipper in like the plague, but I also wanted to make it tight enough to where you could see her figure.  Naturally, my first attempt I made it too tight, so I had to seam rip her out.  The second time I made it too big.  The third, which was the first time she wore it outside of my house, was just right.

Now, there's several things about dance dresses you must know.

1. Everyone is just supposed to pretend that when they see a skin colored strap, they need to pretend it is invisible.  That way we can keep our clothes on and still do amazing moves.
2. Bras or cup inserts must attach to the dress.  You try dancing with a strapless bra and keeping everything in place.
3. Dance dresses are rarely machine washable.  It's just a fact of life. 

Therefore, my next challenge was to get a bra in the dress.  Luckily, Tehya had an old one she was willing to give up.  I threw on some straps that could snap on and off the bra, and called it a day.

I realize I am horrible at hand sewing and promise to change

 

 In case you're wondering why I chose to make straps instead of just using bra straps, see number 1 above.

And with some finishing touches, the dress was structurally finished.  We just had dress rehearsal, and the dress made its debut.

photo credit: Kyra Malicse

photo credit: Caroline Suh

photo credit: Caroline Suh

photo credit: Caroline Suh

Honestly, I am beside myself in amazement of how good it looks.  When she first tried it on, she looked a whole lot like a cape.  Now she looks like a gorgeous dancer ready for Blackpool.  Tehya and I are still waiting patiently until the mailman delivers our precious gemstones.  Then we shall have a sparkles party and attack the dress.

For a quick recap for those who are actually wondering how I did this:

1. Cut out the two idential pieces shown above.
2. Sew together the side that is not the wing right side to right side
3. Turn right-side out and iron
4. Make a seam in the center of the dress for the shape around the model's body
5. Hem all edges- I used a very small hem
6. Make detachable straps for the bra
7. Attach one of the straps to the dress (the one that can be seen)
8. Attach an arm band to the end of the wing at the top
9. Throw some sparkles at it

These aren't the best instructions ever, so if you have any questions, let me know.

Tehya and I