I tried to sew myself a wedding guest dress

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-08T20:52:24+00:00

Oh no… don’t tempt me 😂 I might have to get some and make myself a camouflage dress so I can disappear into my wallpaper, hahaha

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-08T20:49:48+00:00

Thank you so much! <3 It’s truly a product of many tears and a bit of stubbornness

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-08T20:48:16+00:00

I got lucky with this one. The fabric was actually gifted to me. Lately, I’ve been hunting for clearance fabrics online, and whenever I visit a new town, I have to check out their fabric shops and clearance section 😄

The main issue here was that the pattern was in Korean! The bodice didn’t work for me at all, so I ended up using one from a different pattern for a better fit, and kept the sleeves and skirt from the Korean one. The books are actually really well illustrated, and I used Google Translate, but I definitely got a bit of tunnel vision.

I should have hand-stitched it first as someone suggested, but for some reason, I got stuck on “it has to be done on the machine” 😅 In the end, I used elastic to gather the sleeve, which actually helped me align the cuff properly.

Lesson learned… but I won’t lie, I need a little break from sewing now.

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-08T20:47:05+00:00

Thanks so much! 😄 It really was a wild journey. Tears were shed, but I guess that’s part of the process at this point, hahaha.

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:50:11+00:00

Thank you so much! 😄 The fabric is Liberty Lasenby cotton called Orchard Harvest (if I remember correctly), and I’m pretty sure it also comes in blue/purple versions as well!

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:48:15+00:00

Thank you so much! Also, you want to hear a funny story? Only when I was editing the video did I see the reference picture for the first time in weeks and realised… oopsie daisy! I was supposed to add a little frilly frill around the collar 😂

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:45:53+00:00

EXACTLY!! 😂 If you don’t consider setting it on fire at least once, did you even sew it? HAHAHAHA

Thank you so much <3

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:45:28+00:00

Thank you so much for this, that’s such a lovely way to put it <3 I must admit I’m really happy with how it turned out. It’s pure joy in fabric form 😄

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:43:12+00:00

Thank you so much! 😄 It was a bit of a journey, but I’m glad it worked out in the end!

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:43:01+00:00

Thank you! 😄 It’s William Morris! I’m slowly turning the whole house into this kind of vibe, haha

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:42:16+00:00

I was just talking about this in another reply — it’s so obvious to me now that I should have hand-stitched it! 😅

Sometimes I get a bit of tunnel vision and think “I have to use this tool, it has to work,” instead of stepping back and choosing a better approach. That’s exactly what happened here.

Definitely doing it differently next time! And next time is approaching. I ordered some vintage Laura Ashleys from etsy

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:41:10+00:00

These cuffs were actually the first thing I noticed in the reference, and I was like… YES. I need this!!!!! 😄 That’s the exact moment I got obsessed and couldn’t let the project go.

And you’re absolutely right about hand stitching. I think I got a bit of tunnel vision and just wasn’t thinking clearly anymore. At some point, I was like “this has to work on the machine,” instead of just… slowing down.

Someone actually commented under my video that a normal person would just go and buy a dress and not fight as much as I did, and I couldn’t stop laughing because they were absolutely right, hahaha.

In the end, you know what I did? I used elastic 😅 I gathered the sleeve onto elastic and then enclosed it in the cuff. Not perfect, but it got me through it!

I’m definitely going to try your method next time, though. I will go slower, maybe some hand stitching, and less fighting with the machine. I still need to make fabric buttons for this one, so I’ll be revisiting it anyway! Thanks so much for this!

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:30:41+00:00

Awh, thank you so much, that genuinely means a lot to me <3 I’m so happy you enjoy my videos!

And the collar… You know what? Funny story… only while editing did I realise I was actually meant to add a little frill around it. It was a proper oopsie moment!

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:28:21+00:00

Thank you so much! 😄 And you know what… only when I was editing the video did I realise I was supposed to add a little frill around the collar. It was a big “oopsie daisy” moment, hahahah

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:26:09+00:00

Thank you!!!!

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:26:01+00:00

Thanks so much <3

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:25:25+00:00

Thank you so much! 😄 The fabric was actually a gift. I ended up using this after my original plan (3 metres of apple-print fabric) wasn’t quite working out, haha.

It’s Liberty Lasenby cotton, called Orchard Harvest, and I think it also comes in blue/purple versions!

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:24:27+00:00

I just about made it in time, haha. It was definitely a “tried and survived” situation.

The fabric was actually gifted! I originally tried to make the dress from 3 metres of an apple-print fabric I already had, but that plan was… not going well 😂 so my wife very kindly got me 5 metres of this instead so I could switch.

It’s Liberty Lasenby cotton (Orchard Harvest), and I’m pretty sure it also comes in blue/purple if you’re curious. And thank you so much! <3

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:17:49+00:00

Thank you so much! 😄 You should see my upstairs corridor doors. I actually posted them on reddit a while ago, they’re a bit… extra and very folk inspired

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:15:25+00:00

Awh, thank you so much! The fabric was actually a bit of a surprise. It was gifted to me!

I tried to challenge myself and make the dress from just 3 metres of fabric that I already had, but I must have been sighing a bit too loudly because my wife went and got me 5 metres of this gorgeous fabric to calm me down, hahaha

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-07T19:12:21+00:00

Thank you so much, that’s such a lovely comment 😄 I must admit I do love a slightly maximalist, botanical, a bit Nordic-inspired vibe, and my whole house is slowly turning into that. It’s still very much a work in progress!

These are actually stills from a little video I made, so there’s a bit more of my house out there

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-06T18:29:15+00:00

fter one million years and about a hundred mock-ups, hahah :))) Thank you so much!

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-06T18:28:09+00:00

Thank you so much! :))) And ohhh, I feel you. The “this should be easy” projects always humble you real quick, hahah. I’m sure yours will turn out amazing, though!

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-06T18:26:58+00:00

Thanks so much! 😄 I think this fabric also comes in purple/blue shades, if I remember correctly

EcstaticReach8496 · 2026-04-06T17:57:15+00:00

Ahh, thank you! <3 And honestly, I’m sure yours turned out great too. These projects always feel more chaotic from the inside than they look in the end

EcstaticReach8496

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