Sewaholic 1102: Lonsdale dress in silk

Another Lonsdale dress for my Mum :)





I got a heap of silk on clearance at Spotlight a few weeks ago - some of it was this Silk Dupioni. I've never been a real fan of the stiff feeling of dupioni so when I read about washing it I figured I didn't have anything to lose. It came out feeling like butter :) It still has some crispness to it but is more drapier now and feels lovely.

It's a fancy enough fabric that I kept it very simple - no piping or extra details on the outside. I lined it with silk satin (that I also got on clearance, lol, well when I saw it all down to $3m with 30% off I came home with a lot!!) I was a bit iffy as I've read that sweat can stain it, but this version isn't really a summer day dress so I figured I'd go with it and if I have to, I'll replace it later.


Its a straight size 10, with 1" taken out of the bodice length and 3" off the skirt length. I added 6" in total to the back to shirr it, the dupioni pulled up a lot tighter than a cotton and I could have got away with adding 8".


The seams are mostly french seams except for the back seam which has bias binding on it. I used bias binding on the pocket seams and the hem too, I really like how neat it all looks inside.
The silk is lovely - inside it has quite a muted colour but outside when the sun hits it, it has a beautiful sheen