Want to make an elegant and unique evening gown? Here are tips and pictures of formal frocks I’ve sewn so you can create your own stunning evening dress.
Hey y’all, today I’m going to round up posts on how to sew an evening gown. Fancy dresses tend to get a lot of attention on my Instagram, and I know many people that don’t sew every day clothes but love to sew dress up clothing. Over the years I have sewn quite a few special occasion dresses, and in this post I’ll be sharing them. I’ll also share some of my best tips and tricks for sewing formal wear.
How to Sew With Formal Fabrics
One of the first things that determines if a dress is formal is the fabric. Evening gowns are generally made from formal fabrics like silk, satin, sequins, lace and tulle. So check out the posts below (click on the picture) to get my best tips for working with each type of fabric.
Each type of formal fabric works best with different stitch types/lengths, different needles, different handling techniques, different dress patterns and even a different seam allowance. So make sure you know what those are before you begin.
The type of fabric and which sewing pattern you’re using should influence each other. For example, sequin fabric works best in designs with fewer seams. Tulle is great if you want a gathered skirt with volume. But it’s not perfect for a close fitting strapless sweetheart neckline, unless you’re adding support to the fabric. If you want something sheer that hangs closer to the body nylon mesh and chiffon are better choices than tulle. If you’re sewing lace you want more fabric than your pattern calls for so you can cut with bigger seam allowances and overlay the lace to disguise side seams. All of these things to think about are covered in the posts above.
Which isn’t to say that you can’t make a full skirted ball gown entirely from sequin fabric. It’s just that it’s not the easiest choice and would require extra work and skirt support. Much like that aforementioned close fitting strapless sequin neckline bodice would need extra work and underpinnings to successfully make from tulle.
Sewing Techniques that Help with Evening Gowns
Here are a few techniques I find myself using over and over when it comes to things like a prom dress or a wedding dress. You can go to any tutorial by clicking on the picture.
Every dress at the top of this post with the exception of the corset back wedding dress has an invisible zipper. The narrow rolled hem features in all but the sequin and wedding dress. I used a ruffle foot for the light blue and turquoise dresses. I also used a ruffle foot and hand gathering techniques on the turquoise dress.
Video Tutorials for Sewing a Formal Dress
I have a playlist that you can watch on YouTube here or check out below that covers all of the dresses featured in this post.
Rhinestone Prom Dress
This dress started out as a thrifted bridesmaid dress. We hemmed it and added a rhinestone appliqué to turn it into a dress for my daughter’s junior prom. See more about how to sew it in this post.
Bustier Based Evening Gowns
I drafted a corset/bustier pattern for myself and modified a digital sewing pattern for my daughter to make these formal dresses for her adoption. You can see more photos and details in this post.
Sequined Formal Frock
For my daughter’s senior prom she wanted a sequin dress, so here’s how I sewed this one.
Corset Back Wedding Dress
This is my wedding dress that my mom sewed for me. I added a corset back as my size changed, see how here.
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