Hello beautiful creators on the blockchain, glad to make it to another exciting Needlework Monday, as we also usher in another wonderful week, wishing everyone a fulfilled week ahead, and may all our heart desires become a reality.

I'm so happy today as today's needlework post is all about a beautiful side gathered scuba dress I made for a fellow hiver, I won't tag her yet, until she gives me the permission to and also because this will be her first time seeing the dress, as she is yet to receive them yet, yea, you read right another hiver also gets to receive a surprise dress, don't you worry, I will make sure to let the cat out the bag when their both dresses gets delivered and hopefully I get to receive pictures after fitting.

Just so you know, this isn't the final look of this dress, but it's already 95% done and stunning to behold. Maybe someone will guess the extra 5% process that completes this look.

About 2 weeks ago, she reached out to me about liking and wanting a similar dress I posted on my WhatsApp status, and we made some alterations from the original style to get hers customized. All she did was send her pictures, and the work started at an affordable rate. Sourcing the right fabric was the first thing, it was quite challenging these two weeks since I was still writing my exams, and also discovering that scuba fabric is scarce in the market, the few that still had it in stock increased the price to my dismay, luckily I found a store that was a bit considerate after almost giving up.

Another challenge was working with the fabric, since this wasn't my first time working with scuba fabric, I was already mentally prepared, Due to its foamy texture, it is always quite challenging for our sewing machine to sew a straight, perfect stitch without skipping. If you haven't worked with a scuba fabric before, make sure to put the tips I will share to heart, or you will be in for a frustrating day when the time comes.

• The first tip is to use hemming gum while running a stitch, especially around the zipper area, or you will have lots of folds around the zipper area due to the stretch.

• Also, placing a paper on top of your seam while you sew helps achieve a tight stitch.

Some people swear by using candles too, but these were the ones I tried and were of great help. You could also just use a serger or weaving machine to lock your seam if you are not leaving any seam allowance.

Materials Used

• Scuba fabric
• Zipper

Cutting and Sewing Process

• I started by drafting the dress pattern on paper, using a bustier front pattern and a normal back dress pattern with a dart.

• Next, I transferred the patterns to the fabric

* I also cut out the turtle collar neck pattern on paper before transferring it to the fabric.

• Continuing, I joined the front pattern pieces together, held the back dart, and also joined the turtle neck collar around the neckline.

• I went further to slash and spread the cut-out side of the dress of fabric, before gathering it to the sides of the dress

• Finally, I cut out the sleeve pattern, it's a straight sleeve, I sewed it around both armholes of the dress, and that completes the making of this chic and beautiful side gathered dress. Stay tuned for the final transformation.

All images used in this post are mine

Thank you for reading. ❤❤

Posted Using INLEO