Engagement Dress

As I’ve mentioned on Instagram, and Facebook, and —let’s be real— to anyone who I have come across in real life in the last three weeks (complete strangers included), John and I have gotten engaged! I’ve been back in Portland since early December, and John came back too for a couple weeks to spend the holidays with our family and friends. He popped the question at his “Welcome back to PDX” get together, at a little bar called The Sweet Hereafter in front of our close friends.

I was able to put together a last minute plan of having engagement photos taken while John and I were still on the same continent (MEGA THANKS to Amy from Love Lit Photography for squeezing in an amazing shoot on such late notice), including sewing up this romantic lace dress.

The dress is a heavy redraft of the Kommatia patterns backless bodysuit. Being on such a short deadline, I knew I had to use a knit pattern and one that I’d had success with before. And despite having such little time to sew it up, I still redrafted it so heavily that it doesn’t even resemble the original pattern; I basically used the original pattern as a sloper, so to speak. The open back curve has been straightened out with a lot of slash-and-opens, the shoulder seam has been angled upwards, the mock turtleneck has been dropped, the neckline has been adapted into a boat neck, the pattern has been chopped at the waist to accommodate a multi-tiered ruffle skirt, and the sleeve seams have been straightened. It came together in 1.5 days total.

So, please excuse the starry-eyed, gushy, overly romantic photos that follow, but in the interest of Sewing Blog, here are a bazillion photos of my most recent make. If you’re interested in seeing a more in-depth post on how I hacked this body-suit, let me know! I’ve also already bustled up the skirt to make it slightly more wearable to parties, so I’d be happy to share updated photos as well.

Pattern: L501 Open Back Body Suit by Kommatia Patterns
Fabric: Stretch lace from Mill End in Portland, Ore.
Size: Small
Photographer: Amy Wennerlind of Love Lit Wedding Photography