[Sarvi]

Hi folks — my sister tells me she’s fallen in love with a Dolce & Gabbana dress for my daughter to wear as flower girl in her wedding. I’m waiting to hear back on which dress it is, but there only are a few on the site, so I’m taking a guess that it’s this one: http://g.nordstromimage.com/imagegallery/store/product/Gigantic/12/_7776412.jpg

Any thoughts on how I might build a knockoff? It’s white on white so it’s hard to see but I am guessing it’s got satin shoulder straps. The skirt looks to be pure Fairy Tale, with the bow brought around to sit over the left front hip. The bodice looks almost like the sides are ruched a bit? Not sure. Any thoughts?

[juliamom2009]

Hey Sarvi – how about a Swingset top bodice lengthened, mashed up with the Fairy Tale bottom? I’m sure you could pull it off!!

[Jess M.]

also badminton for the scallops (wait, does it have scallops? am I hallucinating? I did just finish a badminton, so I might be hallucinating lol)

[with love Heidi]

have you seen this dress from Lisette, Liesl’s simplicity line? http://www.sewlisette.com/patterns/LL1893

Maybe making the skit fuller?

[Nicole]

Totally do-able.

I like JM2009’s suggestion of the Swing set bodice. I would use the just the bodice top and extend it with just a slight slop to allow for tummy room. Cut the lining proper length and the over bodice longer and ruche the sides.

As Jess says you have the Badminton as a skirt guide and the Fairytale skirt with a little extra width.

Although the straps are satin, I would be inclined to use something with a wee bit more body for the lining.

Easier to sew and I think it would support the lace better on a small child.

(But I am not an heirloom sewer, that is Melanie’s area)

[Mama_Knowles]

I would go with the Fairy tale dress but just change up the shoulders to the straps, I did this with a dress of Sarah’s last year. It wasn’t hard but the straps were not as small as this one. I’ll post a picture of it tomorrow for you.

[meleliza]

What a sweet fun dress! In fact, I’ve just been thinking about a lace sash one white dress as I plan for next year’s communion season. The hardest part will be finding suitable lace with a scallop hem. Check with your sister to see exactly which elements of the dress are most important to her. If

I think the Lisette pattern above would be the easiest. Instead of bias around the underarms, I would just make the straps. You can clean line the bodice like a strapless dress, similar to the way the roller skate dress is constructed, only you’ll attach the straps to the bodice first and sandwich them between the fabric and lining.

Gosh, I am really only dabbling in the heirloom stuff! However, I totally agree with Nicole that the lace could use extra support in the bodice and perhaps also in the skirt, depending on wether you want full or drape-y. I would underline the bodice with something like cotton poplin and line it with a soft cotton lawn. If you want fullness in the skirt, you could again underline with poplin and line with lawn. You could add a little or a lot of tulle. I really llike the Fariy Tale method of sandwiching the tulle between lining and fabric so there’s nothing scratchy on little legs.

Now I want to make this dress! I’m going to have to pin it.

[meleliza]

Looking again, you could line it with satin too. That would be so soft and luxurious! I have used the Kaufmann radience silk/cotton sateen for both sashes and linings and love it. It comes in white and ivory. Look at this lace: http://www.hartsfabric.com/shimmery-floral-lace-coral-71169.html

[Sarvi]

Thanks so much for all the responses, ladies! Yesterday was a bad tech day around the house and I wasn’t able to log in to reply. I might swap out dupioni for satin as I have a bit more experience with it. My sister has reported back that it’s not the exact dress she saw before, which she now can’t find, but that she does like this one. I might take a whack at it just for fun, having worked with eyelet before but not much lace.

Thanks again for all the great replies, they’ve been super helpful!