Halter neck dress based on Simplicity 1876 by Leanne Marshall

It’s a lovely sun-kissed day and we took the chance to discover Dromana Beach and Arthurs Seat .

I spent time on Friday night to finish off this Halter Neck Dress so that I could show it off today. And here is it: my little dress and the beach.

I am a fan of Project Runway and Leanne Marshall. I have been planning on this Simplicity 1876 pattern for a while. The fabric I used is polyester satin and bemsilk lining.

I have always been intimidated by wearing strapless dresses, thinking it would fall off anytime. Now I learn if the dress is a good fit and properly made, it can be as comfortable as a normal dress. So fitting is paramount for this pattern. I did a test muslin for the fitted bodice, lots of fitting and re-drafting the pattern. 

I also have a quick tip on baste stitching the bodice pieces – stitch them in a continuous stitch. It saves your time cutting the thread and pulling threads to feed the new piece.

It’s my first time to sew boning. After a bit of research, I found it’s quite straight forward. Instead of inserting the boning into the casing, I sewed it in between the layers because it was too wide for the casing. I used sew-in interfacing instead of fusible.

Thanks to divabuddha’sreview, I used four side pleats on each side instead of gathering. I also lined the skirt and the vent. Lining the vent is a challenge and since it was the last step I had already lost patience. I admit the hem and the vent are not perfect. 

The jellyfish is a surprise discover for us today and we seemed to have fun with it.