Sophia’s Transforming Navy Law Ball Dress

Sophia is in her penulimate year Law at Deakin University.  We worked with Sophia to develop the design for her Deakin Law Ball dress for this year.  Starting with images Sophia had found we sketched up the design.  Speaking with Sophia we wanted to make something that could transform so she could also wear it to the after party.  With the tiered skirt this was perfect!  A zipper!  

Construction of Navy Transforming Dress

The tulle layers of the design were a key feature and the lengths needed to be suite for both the full length look and the shorter zipped version. The trick to this was the length of the lining. The zipper was concealed by the hem of the top layer.

Making a strapless bodice stable is important; the choice of lining, stabilisers, interfacing and boning need to considered. The ink blue velveteen and navy cotton drill fabrics sourced from Spotlight was cut in Vogue 8849 . For this velvet bodice the velvet would not carry the weight but this would be the job of the lining. We chose to create the lining in cotton drill that was interfaced and boned.

Four layers of tulle sourced from Remnant Warehouse made up each tier of the skirt and was gathered onto the cotton drill base. The closure of the dress was a welt zipper at the center back with the tulle skirt loose over the top.

Details

Pattern: Vogue 8849
Fabric: Ink blue Velveteen and navy cotton drill from Spotlight, Navy Tulle from Remnant Warehouse 90cm open ended zipper from Premier Group

Transforming – The great unzip

After party ready

Check out Georgia and Erin‘s Law Ball outfits. 

Georgia’s Jungle Green Silk Satin Law Ball Dress

Georgia has studied Law at Deakin University for the last six years.  Also with Erin this would be her last Law Ball.  We wanted to make her dress something special.  We started with some inspiration and Erin’s key criteria for Georgia was she had to choose a colour that wasn’t black.  

Construction of Jungle Green Silk Satin Dress

The bodice for Georgia’s dress started with Simplicity 6408 as it had a beautiful back shape and the gathered front seam created the perfect neckline. The skirt needed to be cut on the bias to create the drape and fall Georgia was after so we used Butterick 5710 as the base for this.

Erin and Georgia went on a fabric hunt and found a beautiful jungle green (not black) silk satin at Rathdowne Fabrics in Brunswick.

The design of the dress evolved from the original sketch. We chose to remove the bottom ruffle section and keep the straps travelling straight over the shoulders.

The thin straps were created using the fabric, creating a thin tube. The strap was turned through using a bobkin sewing needle (a needle without a point used for sewing chunky knits).

The dress was constructed to a point that meant Georgia could try it on. At the fitting we decided that fully lining the bodice would be the best course to finish it off. The lining of the bodice was interfaced with whisperweft interfacing. A piece of plastic boning along the side seam position to provide some stability. The skirt side seams were finished with a french seam to provide a neat finish. This reduced any damage that might be cause to the fabric by placing it through an overlocker.

Details

Pattern: Simplicity 6408 and Butterick 5710
Fabric: Jungle green silk satin from Rathdowne Fabrics

Lace Blue Deakin Law Ball

This year Erin graduates from her studies at Deakin University which means this year is her final Law Ball.  Over the last six years we have created a new outfit for the occasion that has included navy sequins, red lace, pale blue flowers.  This year it was time to mix things up.

We started by collecting some images on Pinterest,originally we had purchased a gold fabric to make a draped bodice but after Erin was nominated for the Lawyer’s Weekly Award this dress was created for that occasion and this opened up the possibilities.  

Law Ball sketch - Blue Lace - Tessuti Fabrics - Erin Ritchie - Two Sewing Sisters

Construction

The bodice for this Law Ball outfit was cut from McCall’s 6331 in cream coloured drill to create a nude effect to be layered with Billi’s Royal Lace from Tessuti Fabric . The lace comes in 50cm wide panels which meant strategic placement of panels on the pattern. The bodice was heavily boned to support the strapless corset style and the key design lines had matching blue ribbon top stitched on them.

Why a two piece not a jumpsuit? If you have to ask that question, chances are you have never been to the bathroom in a jumpsuit. The pants are created from Megan Nielsen Flint Pants as a base with removal of the pockets for a smooth line in the lace.

Details of the Outfit for Law Ball

Pattern: Bodice McCall’s 6331 and bottom Megan Nielsen Flint Pants
Fabric: Billi’s Royal Lace from Tessuti Fabric
Shoes: Florsheim
Clutch: Olga Berg