Here's another one I made earlier

As I haven’t quite finished the laptop bag I mentioned in my last post I thought now would be a great time to show you some more of the dresses I’ve made.

Like I mentioned previously I’m a yo-yo when it comes to size, so some of the dresses have a little bit shape to them (when I was thin-ish....) and others are like a sack of potatoes!!!!!

I certainly got a really good deal with this pattern, for not only did I pay less than £1 for it, I must have made each of the three pattern styles – long length, knee length and flared knee length – two or three times.

The flared length style is my staple LBD that I’ve worn on many occasions. I love the shimmer of the fabric but it can be rather uncomfortable to wear without a full slip as the metallic thread in the fabric is very itchy. Hence, the dress always shares a hanger with the slip so I don’t forget it !!!!

This pattern came free with Prima magazine a few years ago. It was originally a wedding dress design so I simply removed the fishtail train to make it into an evening gown instead. The dress should have had spaghetti straps but I couldn’t get them to work.

Another dress during my ‘thin’ period. I loved the simplicity of the design with the unusual little bodice slit. The slit buttons came from an old pair of trousers.

Two dresses from the same pattern. I love cowls so was immediately drawn to this design. When I first used this pattern for the red/orangey dress I had quite a time stitching the front ‘V’. By the time I came to make the blue dress I had mastered it.

There is a good reason why the blue dress is a bit shorter than the other one. I had intended to make a different dress using the blue fabric but once I made the toile I really hated the style. Unfortunately all my other patterns required a lot more fabric so luckily this one saved the day – albeit with a shorter length as I ran out of fabric !!

Another cowl dress – there’s a surprise !!!! I ventured away from my staple colours for this one and chose a beautiful silky lilac fabric.  Its softness made it perfect for draping the cowl.

This one is affectionately known as the ‘Slapper’ dress. My mam really hated it – and she could be quite blunt in her opinions (she once said of a dress that I looked like a pregnant duck…) – and said I looked like a ‘Slapper’ in it….

Because of its style I couldn’t wear a bra and didn’t have any toupee tape to hold down the straps, so unfortunately I had a bit of a ‘wardrobe malfunction’. I was sitting on the floor (don’t ask !!!!!!) talking to some friends on the next table (we were at a gala dinner) when one of the straps slid off my shoulder and my rather large boob fell out of the dress. When I regaled the tale to my mam she replied ‘told you so’….

And finally we come to one of my all time favourite dresses.

We went on cruise to the Monaco Grand Prix and on the Friday evening we were invited to a party at the Monte Carlo Grand Hotel. Because it was a special anniversary of a Bugatti winning the first Monaco Grand Prix, there was an optional dress code of twenties theme clothing or anything in Bugatti Blue.

As it’s not every day that you get invited to the Monte Carlo Grand I really wanted to push the boat out (no pun intended….). I found a lovely pattern – a skirt and corset style bodice – and some Bugatti Blue fabric.

I got lots of lovely comments about the dress and they were most intrigued as to where I bought it from. I had great delight in telling them it came from ‘The House of Gertie’….

Have a great week.

Gertie xx

PS why not pop over to Handmade Monday to see what other fellow craft bloggers have been up to.