I think that last minute sewing has become a bit of a Frocktails tradition for many people.  I happened to have a bit of time up my sleeve, and plenty of patterns and fabrics at my disposal, so I began Frocktails sewing weeks ahead of the actual date.  My first dilemma was about what to make.

I did of course ask the hive mind of Instagram to help me decide, but that didn’t end up helping at all as opinions were divided between all four patterns. So I just picked one and started sewing. As it turned out, it was very fast to make. So I picked out another one, and sewed that. Then a third. Then a fourth. And on the day of Frocktails? I sewed the fifth.

I’ve already shown you one of the dresses that I made – the Flutter dress. But this one is the dress that I eventually chose to wear. It’s Simplicity 1733, sleeveless and full length.

The fabric is from Darn Cheap Fabrics (yes, from the $2 table). It’s a lovely slinky poly/spandex knit, in a coral that works beautifully with my colouring. It’s the same fabric that I used for Clare’s top.

You’ve heard the details of Simplicity 1733 before in this post and this one, so
I’ll mostly share some photos. I did remember to take one mid construction of the bodice – this might help some of you to better visualise the way that the front twist goes together.

I had my hair curled especially for the event as a bit of a lark. I wasn’t expecting to like it, but figured that I could wash it out if it looked terrible. I don’t think that I’ve had curls since a spiral perm in 1990. Anyway, I decided that it was a lot of fun, and others said nice things about it on the night! I might try it again one day. I actually felt a little bit “old Hollywood glam” with this dress and hair combination.

I also sewed a simple embroidered mesh shrug to wear with my dress in case I got a little chilly. I used a remnant that was in stash, using the full width of the fabric so that the embroidered edges of the selvedges became the sleeve edges.

This is a very simple shrug to make, and there are loads of tutorials on the internet explaining how to do it. Google “sew one seam shrug” or “sew shrug tutorial” or “free shrug pattern” etc and you’ll find something like this that will work for you. Essentially it is a rectangle folded in half and seamed from one wrist to the other BUT with a gap left in the centre for the body. The edges of the gap can be simply turned and hemmed, or you can do what I did and use some fabric to bind the opening (like you’d do the neck of a knit top).

To wear it, you just put your arms through the sleeves and the opening just curves around your back and neck. It does need soft and stretchy fabric to work effectively.

As it turned out, I was warm enough without my shrug. So, to finish off, just a few more photos from Frocktails by Louisa Jones Photography.

The signature drink this time was the Tailor’s Tack.  I can’t remember what was in it, but it was delicious!

Thanks to Kat, Libby and Renee for organising the night – and to the ladies who coordinated some of the events around Frocktails, such as Friday night dinner, Sunday breakfast, and the epic fabric shopping trip (well done Anna!).  I couldn’t make it to the surrounding events, but the word was that they were all great fun!

The four of us work at the same place – but met through sewing!  We pretty much never run into one another at work.

(and no, I am not wearing Spanx).