Two weeks ago I shared with your the big reveal of my Day and Night Dress with that said I thought I’d share with you some of the details about how I constructed this outfit.
The Fabrics and Pattern
Day and Night Barbie was a doll from 1984 and her suit was very 80’s in style, while her evening outfit was like an 80’s prom or Cyndi Lauper get up.
So, instead of flat out recreating Day and Night Barbie’s dress I decided to use it as inspiration and go with something a little more mainstream and modern.
However, I knew the outfit still needed to be iconic Barbie pink.
In my stash, I found that I had some textured thick cotton like pale pink fabric which would be perfect for my day look.
For the night look, I went with a lavender pink taffeta, also in my stash. I knew I didn’t want a bunch of tulle on the inside of my skirt, but I still wanted to give the tulle effect.
I found a pink chiffon-like fabric with embroidered pink flowers on it that when layered on top of the taffeta looked amazing.
Simplicity 2229
For the day look, I ended up finding Simplicity 2229 a Threads pattern from the 2000’s, in my stash.
I really liked this suit pattern for two reasons. First, it had a foe wrap skirt which I figured I could hack into an actual wrap skirt.
Second, it had some really nice style details, such as the curved skirt overlap and point at the front jacket. I also liked the tie strings on the jacket.
| Sewing Summary | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Feb 17 |  |
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| Pattern: | Simplicity 2229 | |||||
| Version: | A & E | |||||
| Size: | 22 | |||||
| Notes & Modification: | Hacked skirt to make a true wrap around | |||||
| Recommendations: | Read jacket collar instruction very carefully | |||||
| Difficulty: | Intermediate to Advance | Rating: | ||||
Skirt Hack
To make the skirt I cut the skirt pieces once out of the day fabric, then once out of the taffeta and one last time out of the chiffon.
Before constructing the skirt I set the chiffon pieces on top of the taffeta and basted together. This way the two pieces of fabric would now act as a single piece.
I pretty much followed the instructions for putting together the skirt and lining (night skirt) as directed. However, I did sew up all the side seams because I would not be adding the side zip in.
For the waistband, I had to draft a larger one, the length of the full skirt and then attach for the wrap effect.
Once the skirt was assembled I tried on and marked the placements of the buttons and buttonholes.
The Jacket
The jacket was the most time-consuming part of the whole project. I really wanted a crisp wearable suit jacket and wanted to make sure mine came out just right.
The biggest issue with this jacket is the instructions for the collar. It seems any big four patterns I’ve used that has included a lapel style collar, are awful.
After a ton of head scratching and unpicking, I finally managed to work around what all I needed to do. It’s not perfect but still pretty nice.
Simplicity 4500
Since the suit pattern didn’t include a blouse top I had to go look for one. As it turns out yet another Threads pattern in my stash was just perfect.
| Sewing Summary | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Feb 17 |  |
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| Pattern: | Simplicity 4500 | |||||
| Version: | A | |||||
| Size: | 20 | |||||
| Notes & Modification: | Graded to a 1/2 inch seam allowance towards the waist down | |||||
| Recommendations: | Read jacket collar instruction very carefully | |||||
| Difficulty: | Beginner to Intermediate Beginner | Rating: | ||||
Simplicity 4500 included a pattern foe-princess seam blouse with a sweetheart neckline and side zip.
The illusion of princess seams is created with long french darts down the front and back of the blouse.
Construction of the top was quick and easy and was exactly the look I envisioned for this project.
The Results
I wasn’t sure how this project was going to turn out and was worried that it would be super time-consuming. Which ironically is why I kept putting off starting it.
In the end, however, it actually didn’t take long to whip up. In total, I spent about 4 days on and off working on it and the majority of it was spent on the jacket.
I’m really happy with the end results and had a great time participating in this challenge. If you haven’t already, be sure to watch my Day and Night Dress video.
Also, check out Elizabeth Made This blog to see all the Day and Night challenge participants amazing dresses.
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