My lovely friend Ella decided to host a Eurovision party this weekend.
We were each given a country and we had to come dressed as if we were from that country and bring food from the country.
The country that I got was Azerbaijan, and they wear a rather traditional princess-like dress. A friend of mine had given me an old dress of hers last year, and although it would not do up when I tried it on I thought that I should be able to do something with it.
As the pictures show below, it doesn't do up on my mannequin which is the same size as me. This was problematic because I had to consider what to do: whether to unpick some seams and try to let it out or whether to add a panel?
I decided to unpick the zip completely because it was starting to come away from the seams anyway and I thought that I could add something to the back that meant that a different zip was needed or a different technique. However, I decided to leave the small section of zip that was in the skirt in place because there was more fabric involved that complicates the situation.
On the back I decided that eyelets would be a good way to fasten it. They are fiddly, as I know from the cushions I made, but they would provide and attractive and efficient method of making it fit me.
To begin with, I drew crosses from the top every 5cm to mark the places where I would put the eyelets:
Then, I used the tool that is supplied with the set and a hammer to punch holes into the fabric. This proved difficult because the flimsy plastic gadget that comes with it snapped early on and I had to use multiple pieces of wood to hold it together.
Once I had made all of the holes, I punched the metal hoops through. They were also difficult to do because the cracked plastic thing was not helpful, and the metal warped a couple of times when the surface was slightly uneven.
However, when they were finally finished, they looked very effective with the ribbon in and it now fitted so that I could wear it.
One of the main features of Azerbaijani dress is the headpiece, which often features a crown-like piece and a veil. I found an old belt in our dressing up box that I thought would be appropriate to act as a headpiece, and some white organza left over from another project for a veil.
I cut the organza into a half-doughnut shape; the smaller curve had a diameter of the length of head band that I wanted it sewn on to, and the larger curve was made as big as possible. Then, because I do not have an overlocker, I zigzag stitched around the outer edge of the fabric, pulling it tight as I did so, in order to create the slightly frilly effect.
Then, I pinned the smaller semi circle curve of it onto the belt (after placing the belt on my head and finding the point where it comes level with my ears), pinning the edge of the fabric to the flat underside edge of the belt. I stitched the fabric on by hand in a small running stitch, ensuring that the edges stayed together to let the curve affect the fall of the fabric.
Then my Azerbaijani costume was complete! I wore my prom shoes with it because they are a silvery purple colour that complimented it well.
