It seems my penchant for all things wrapped and tucked isn’t going to die anytime soon. Not only are wrapped dresses like this one easy to make, they lend themselves to so many different iterations of the same dress – you’re only limited by your imagination in terms of how you wear it. And although I sometimes worry about wardrobe malfunctions when wearing these types of dresses, I then like to remind myself that women all over the world have been wrapping and tucking fabric into dresses, skirts and, well, togas since day one. My time living in Sri Lanka when I was younger certainly seems to have rubbed off! I learnt early on that the key to this working is tight wrapping, and the use of a broach or pin to secure the style if you’re a little worried.
I’m excited to have stepped it up this time with the use of lace, a fabric that looks expensive and interesting no matter how basic the style you put together is. It’s the perfect piece for summer… Go forth and wrap!
DIY Lace Dress
You need
- 3 metres of lace fabric (3.3 yards)
- 3 metres of lining fabric (3.3 yards)
- Scissors
- Pins
- A Sewing machine
- Elastic that fits around your waist
To make this dress you’re going to make a simple gathered waistband skirt and one long piece that will wrap around your bodice section. It’s really easy to do!
How to
1. Make your gathered skirt the same way you can see it being made here. It’s made by hand in that post but you can do it like that or on a sewing machine. You’ll have to make it two separate layers if you are going with lining fabric.
2. This is what the finished skirt will look like.
3. Next, you’re going to make the wrap section which will make the bodice of the dress. To do this, cut a piece of fabric 1.5 metres long (1.7 yards) and 20 cm wide (8 inches) out of lace and lining, and then sew them together, leaving one end open. Turn this piece inside out so you have nice clean edges and iron it flat, then sew down the open end so no raw edges are showing. You’ll then have your gathered skirt and your bodice piece.
4. To wear, you need to put the skirt on and wrap the bodice piece around you, contouring the bodice to your body. There are lots of different ways you can wrap it, but I chose to do it a simple strapless style. Imagine you’re wrapping your bodice section in a bandage, so make sure to do it tight. I simply tuck the end into the waistband of the skirt because it’s nice and firm, but you can also use a pin or broach to secure it at the back.
Voila!
Photos by Nicola Lemmon
