DD1 is attending a 16th birthday party for one of her friends, and the dress code was “all in black”.  Perfect excuse for making a new dress, right?  Never mind that she’s never owned a little black dress. 

She chose this style from Burda September 2014.  It’s basically a strapless, boned bodice with a short-ish (21″) gathered dirndl skirt and a lace upper bodice.  We went with black silk  shantung and spider-web lace from stash.  I muslined the bodice, and then used the adjusted muslin as the pattern and underlining for the silk. The cotton lining contains the spiral steel bones, which I fell-stitched to the bodice proper.   I added a petersham waist stay, and an additional small stay across the top of the bodice behind the invisible zipper to facilitate zipping-up ease and prevent zipping up skin. The lace is bound in chiffon bias strips.  I shortened the front upper lace bodice by about 2 inches.  The left shoulder is fastened with a loop and button.The skirt is basically a rectangle gathered into the bodice.  I lined it with bemberg, and finished the hem with purple lace.  Mostly because I didn’t have any black lace.This was a 2-day project – crunch time, in terms of sewing hours.  And there was a lot of hand sewing, mostly due to my personal choice of construction.I’m pleased with the fit.  DD1 is dancing 20+ hours per week and is extremely fit these days, but I deliberately cut the bodice with about 1.5 inches (4cm) ease spread out over all 6 seams so she can wear this for a few years.