How to Create Your Own Prom Dress
Rather than following all the other girls at your prom and buying a dress from the same stores, in the same old styles, you could wear a unique design tailored to exactly your specifications. The best way to do this is to have complete control over the design and creation of the dress at every stage, and the only way to do that is to make it yourself. Dresses are the simplest and often most enjoyable clothes to make. With a little sewing skill, you can create your own stunning prom dress for your friends to drool over.
Things You'll Need
- Sketchbook
- Fashion magazines or web images
- Muslin
- Sewing equipment
- Dress pattern
- Fabric
- Notions
Instructions
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Designing the Dress
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1
Flip through as many fashion or prom magazines as possible to get a good sense of what formal evening dresses look like, and what your options are. Choose a basic shape and style.
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2
Browse the local fabric store and pattern company websites for evening dress patterns that look like the style you wish to wear. Vogue and Butterick make some of the more complicated dress patterns, while Simplicity and New Look are easier for beginners. Keep in mind that alterations can be made to skirt length, sleeves and embellishments, and that patterns often have directions for doing so.
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3
Sketch your dress in detail, using your original idea and the pattern you plan to use. Decide exactly how you want the dress to look.
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4
Make a test version of the prom dress out of muslin, following the specifications of your pattern. Use the size alteration guides included on the pattern pieces to determine where the pattern should be taken in and let out. Put the muslin test dress on your body at every possible stage of sewing to make fit adjustments.
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5
Take apart the muslin dress, once you are satisfied with the fit, to use as a pattern for the real dress.
Making the Dress
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6
Add color to your sketch. After seeing yourself in the muslin, you should have a clear idea of what colors to use on each part of the dress. If you cannot decide on colors, use an existing color scheme from a fashion magazine outfit.
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7
Take your sketch to the fabric store and, using the pattern guidelines on fabric types, choose fabrics in colors you like. Choose al trim, lining and notions to match.
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8
Re-make the whole dress out of your new fabric, using the muslin as pattern pieces. Be vigilant about any problem areas you may have encountered making the test dress, as you will want this version to be executed as neatly as possible.
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9
Put the dress on before attaching lining and trims or hemming, if at all possible. Double-check the fit and make any necessary adjustments.
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10
Finish the dress. Trims and embellishments may need to be hand-stitched for neatness, and all lining should lay flat.
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Tips & Warnings
Look for dress patterns that have a designer's name attached to them, if you cannot find anything you like among the regular patterns. Oscar de la Renta for Vogue Patterns, for example, may have something more to your taste. Also consider looking at vintage patterns, which may have more unique styles. The muslin test dress should let you know exactly how much fashion fabric you will really need. If your dress includes tulle, you may wish to incorporate practice tulle into the test dress to see how it will fall. Sit down in the test dress, dance and move about to make sure it is comfortable enough for you to spend the entire evening in. If the fabric store does not have what you are looking for, consider shopping online. You can find plenty of eveningwear fabric on Ebay and online fabric shops like Fabrics.Net or NY Fashion Center Fabrics.
