Chanel Inspired: The Scottish Renaissance Nightgown Dress

So...these are some looks from the Chanel Pre-Fall collection. It looks like everyone is in Scotland circa 1500.

Here are some more that I chose to try to emulate.

I really should have just tried the one above, but I decided to go for it and do the poofy volume of the one below.

This is what I came up with. If anyone is filming a horror movie and needs a scary white dress, call me!

I did something I'd never done before and that was machine basting. I'd always hand-basted before, but this was too much material and I was impatient. At least now I know I can machine baste from now on!

Very voluminous! I pinned the sides up at the bottom because it was so long. This process made me feel much like Aaron and the golden calf. I sat down at the machine. . .and this dress popped out! It took a ton of work, but for some reason I kind of don't really feel responsible for it, to be honest.

Because the eyelit material was see-throughish, I lined it with the white part of the Ralph Lauren bedskirt that I'd cut the "skirt" part off to make this skirt. It was crappy material to make anything important out of, but it does make for a good lining!

The back.

This dress actually took way longer than I'd expected or what it looks like. Never underestimate the time that goes into making a moo-moo! It was yards upon yards of fabric, plus you have to try to get the lining to match up underneath. Most of the time was spent on tailoring the top part! Then I sewed more eyelit trim on the bottom. If I ever do this again, I am going to use wayyyyy less material and shorten it. Where am I ever going to wear this??? It was a good learning experience, but it's just not practical. I mean, have I been casted in a play about Mary Queen of Scots that I don't know about?

This is the front. Ironically, it's actually the back, but I sewed the gathered part of the dress with the main seam going down the front by accident and didn't realize it till I was done sewing. My seam ripper is still AWOL, so...the front became the back and the back became the front, and never the twain shall meet. They actually look better reversed, so. . .that was a freebie!

Then my husband came home and told me that it made me look fat. Not really, he's not that mean to say something like that. . .but that IS what I heard!

So I added some grey ribbon to the front.

The End!