YSL Mondrian Dress: Finished!

Much to my amazement, the dress is done! I'm very pleased with how it came out; I can easily see wearing this to other events. Hmm... I've got a reception coming up at the Smithsonian... I could definitely wear it there!

The front view:

And the back view:
BTW, this back view is true to the original. A friend from the Creative Machine list (hi, Bill!) sent me a runway shot showing the color blocking of the back of the dress.

Anyway, the details: I decided against adding a lining; it really didn't need one. I was worried the fabric would be too translucent, but it's not, so why add the extra layer? Instead, I added a one-piece facing (which actually created a head-scratcher: how to sew it in completely by machine? Answer: very carefully.). And, since it's a knit fabric, I didn't have to finish the edge of the facing.

For the hem, I cut another yellow band piece and attached it to the bottom edge with a 1/4" seam, then folded it up and stitched the raw edge to the seam allowance between the outer yellow band and bottom black band. This way, nothing shows from the outside, and I didn't lose much of the yellow. In retrospect, I should have cut the yellow band about half an inch wider, but it ended up looking pretty good anyway.

There's also no zipper. I put an invisible zipper in the left side when I put the shell together yesterday, but discovered I could pull it over my head easily without the zipper, so I took it out.

I found these nice black strappy heels in my closet, and they go pretty well with the dress, so I'll be wearing them. I'd love to wear a pair of red pumps that I have, but a sore toe joint just won't let me wear something with a 3-inch heel. Darn! As for the hair, I'm going to use some of the leftover white fabric to make a triangle scarf, and bind it with the black. Very retro!

Tomorrow's weather promises to be sunny and hot, so this is going to be the perfect dress for the party!

Comments

  1. Looks fantastic! Just think if you do wear it to the Smithsonian, you'll have one less thing on your plate to complete! Enjoy & Happy Birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think your kitty cat is the must have accessory that makes the whole thing ;) Nice job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome! You did a great job. I'm really impressed with how you managed to figure out how to rotate darts into horizontal lines (and give the illusion that you cut a bunch of rectangles when we KNOW (from earlier photos) that the rectangles were funky shapes. Happy birthday! Hope the party was wonderful.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Awesome! I love that dress on you! Happy Birthday!

    ReplyDelete
  5. You did an AMAZING job. I know how hard this was!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love it! Especially that little splash of red! Hope your toe gets better so you can wear those red pumps soon!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I am in awe! you did this from scratch! It's great!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thanks for such a great post.

    The dress is beautiful. Well done! I wanted to know for a long time what the back was like, so thanks a bunch.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh my goodness! You are amazing. I have to go make one now...

    ReplyDelete
  10. Would you mind sending me the block measurements? I would like to try to make this dress....crocheted. :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Welmoed,

    Another sewist making a knock-off of this dress. I pointed her towards your blog.

    http://sewingbytheseatofmypants.blogspot.com/2012/01/i-have-loved-this-dress.html

    SueC56

    ReplyDelete
  12. You look amazing! Can't believe you designed this from a few pictures. And I
    Love the blue you got. The raw primaries say Mondrian every time.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

I would love to hear your thoughts... Please share!