Black and white can be fun!

Needed a black and white evening dress for a black and white gala event.
Don't like black and white.....
Found black and white/cream skull print.
Thought that was fun!













Pattern - self drafted, 4 panel skirt, tight fitting top with little sleeves and a U neck in the back. Darts moved so that they end in the centre at the waist, to line up with the seam in the skirt.
Fabric - crinkle chiffon, polyester?, black piping which I had in my stash, sequin ribbon from Carolina's for belt with bow.
Underlined with thin cotton as I can't stand the feel of geena ( fabric sold locally as lining) on my skin. As the chiffon is quite transparent, the color of the lining changes the color of the fabric. I choose a creamy white over a pure white as I found it more flattering. I underlined (basted the lining to the individual outer fabric pieces and then treated them as one) the dress as opposed to lining it for the following reasons:

1. Underlining hides all the seam allowances - as the fabric is transparent, I didn't want all the seam allowances visible from the outside
2. Underlining gave more body to the fabric than just lining it would
3. The fabric was very unstable and I wanted to make sure the rows of skulls stayed straight accross the dress and didn't start wandering off at funny angles. Basting them to the much more stable cotton lining kept the skulls exactly where I wanted them! This also helped make it possible to match up the pattern across the skirt seams, and even though I say so myself, I think I did a pretty good job matching up the little black faces!

And as I bought all the fabric they had in stock, I though my husband needed a black and white Barong (transparent shirt men traditionally wear in the Philippines) ! More on that once I finish it!

Tip: don't forget to pre-wash and iron fabric/lining and trim before you sew or have it sewn up. The last thing you want is to put a lot of hard work into your dress and find that the dress or the lining shrinks after the first wash!