Six metres of turquoise silk and err black chain?

[Goth Gardiner]

I have six metres od turquoise silk in two shades - three metres of each. It is beautiful, soft and flowing

I bought it on India 10 years ago. 

I want to make an evening dress out of it to wear on a p&o cruise at christmas.

But I am stumped.  I can find lots of beautiful patterns and dresses I could base something on.  But they are all so tame - I have toned down enormously but i am not quite ready fir elegant sophistication.

So needs suggestions.  It can be long or short.  I don't want to go strapless and I don't want anything too historic looking, but no other rules except that the other evening dresses I shall be wearing have lace and silver dimante respectively so would like to avoid them.

I was thinking of adding metres of black chain or plether sleeces or something.

Please save me from being elegant.

[Efemera]

Something with a corset?

[Efemera]

Or this ..with a leather midriff

[DementedFairy]

Art teacher chic my dear, wearable art with a punk twist

...or a ruffled flamenco skirt from THAT Vogue pattern

or something steampunk influenced

pleather with flowing silk might be excessively heavy- but how about black satin for contrast?  Or a lightweight black stretch velvet...you could do a  nice goth skirt and a lovely sexy piratical shirt with  mahoosive sleeves

Get that Westwood/Galliano vibe with one of  those Brenne skirts I'm currently mad about- they are VERY wearable, and more sassy than 'elegant'

...or you COULD make a subtraction dress 

[Efemera]

someone is selling this on FB

[UttaRetch]

[Tamnymore]

Well if you need to buy a pattern @Goth Gardiner try to get it this weekend while Sewdirect is having its flash sale. The Vogue 1410 dress that Demented Fairy recommends is really easy yet very nice and if you do the version where you button it at the side you will get a nice flounce. Does Vogue 9241 do anything for you? Or how about one if the Zandra Rhodes patterns?

[Greybird]

If it's soft and flowing it should be long rather than short. Love DF's first suggestion and UR's.

[BrendaP]

Two different shades of turquoise, so you need something that will adapt to colour blocking.


Skirt the darker shade, bodice the lighter one.
https://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m6283


Dress one colour, overskirt the other.
https://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v1547


Skirt and shoulders darker shade, bodice light
https://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v1094


alternate the colours - maybe make longer - or shorter.
https://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v9145


colours as shown.
https://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v9104

[DementedFairy]

I made the swirly vogue one- it's amazing, but unless you have smallish boobs, it needs to be made in jersey as there is NO WAY you can FBA that little lot without a breakdown!
Also, it's chockful of couture tips, but there's also no way to nicely neaten those curved seams on a woven...dear oh dear....I used the overlocker for 90% of it.  Lovely swirl to it though

[BrendaP]

I too made the swirly one and I wasn't pleased with it.     The stretch of the bias made it all skew-whiff with one arm hole a lot looser than the other one - and no it wasn't my cutting out it was the weight of the fabric pulling down.  I used a heavyish crepe which added to the drag.  I've had a similar problem on a RTW dress which was cut on the bias.  Both ended up in the bin.

If your silk is crisp and firmly woven it would take to the bias design better.

[Roger]

That vogue one looks great, and very flexible for other events.

[DementedFairy]

I too made the swirly one and I wasn't pleased with it.     The stretch of the bias made it all skew-whiff with one arm hole a lot looser than the other one - and no it wasn't my cutting out it was the weight of the fabric pulling down.  I used a heavyish crepe which added to the drag.  I've had a similar problem on a RTW dress which was cut on the bias.  Both ended up in the bin.

If your silk is crisp and firmly woven it would take to the bias design better.

def better in jersey I think- and the more stable the better

[Goth Gardiner]

Thank you everyone.

I love the look of the subtractions dress! But no!

Bearing in mind that this is an evening dress (and I want to use up all the fabric, or else it will sit and glare at me for years) it's @Efemera who wins - but I'm not sure that that dress would have the same impact, and anyway my googling skills have failed to find other similar examples.  I thought the skirt was ruched, but searching for ruching seems to get me what I would consider to be gathers or flounces.  Sigh.

At least I have plenty of time to dither!

Thank you again.

[Lizzy777]

How about this one perhaps?

 https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/107242034850656484/

And there is a free tutorial (it is on jersey fabric and she does show you how to dye it but you already have the colour you want and I think silk would work just as well? )

https://mellysews.com/2012/09/ruched-ombre-dress-tutorial.html

This one (but is it too much ruching?)

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/517539261/vogue-1819-bellville-sassoon-off?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=vogue%20pattern%201819&ref=sr_gallery-1-1

This is quite a nice one too but you may think it is a bit bland perhaps?
It does say evening dress so I would ignore the baby lol........

http://www.burdastyle.com/pattern_store/patterns/ruched-front-evening-dress-032011