I got the opportunity to do this Readers Review after winning the Star Prize category at the Dressmakers Ball in Leicester.
I chose to make version C, as I prefer sleeveless dresses because I have so many tattoos, and why hide it!
A cocktail dress needs to be well fitted, so I first made a toile using an old bed sheet. After days of annoying my husband with zipping it up and down, it was nearly the perfect fit.
In the front of the skirt, I reduced the four darts to two as the four darts made it look puffy in the front. I also added two buttons above the zipper and adjusted the length of the skirt as I have long legs.

I will definitely wear this dress the next time I go to Venice

I used my own technique of ‘Reverse Fitting’, which means the seams are on the outside when you try it on. I find that this way it’s easier to make changes with pins and make marks with a pen on the toile. The difficulty was that I had to combine a size 14 in the upper body and size 16 in the lower body.
For the final dress, I used an iconic Italian fabric by Alta Moda from Stitch Fabrics in London. I am in LOVE with their prints!
I will definitely wear this dress the next time I go to Venice. I will absolutely make another upcycled dress using this pattern, using old jeans, and a bunch of embroidery patches and rivets to transform this simple cocktail dress into a rockstar dress!

Buy your copy of Love Sewing Issue 117, including this fabulous pattern and much more!

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