Morocco + 1960s = What I'm Working On


My sister has a school formal event coming up, and she has asked me to make her a dress!  I'm pretty excited about it, and this is the first time I've made a garment for someone else.  It's a little nerve wracking, but it's going well so far!

The theme of the event is "Midnight in Morocco," so it's totally up my design alley!  My sister also loves a lot of 1960s silhouettes, so I knew a winner would be to combine the decade with Morocco for a unique vintage-intercultural fusion.

I drew out a few ideas, and--happily--my sister chose the fanciest, most detailed one that I liked the best!  (It's so much better to make garments you really believe in!)  We went to Joann and found all of the materials shown above, and I've gotten to work!  One muslin, one not-quite-right fashion fabric bodice and one just-right fashion fabric bodice and it's moving right along!  I'm currently in the stage of hand sewing the embellishments onto the front, and I'm getting more and more excited to finish it and see my sister rock it in a week or so!

Traditional Clothing of Morocco, the caftan:


source

I'm so inspired by the beautiful embellishments, vertical lines, luxurious fabrics and chunky belts!

Here are the two patterns I considered to use as the base that I then altered for the design I made.  I'm not going to tell you which one I went with so it's a surprise at the reveal!




By the way, does anyone else have a sad, water-stained ironing board cover like I do?!  Hopefully there will be an upcoming post on making one of those, 'cuz I need to make myself a new one!

7 comments

  1. How fun!! Love the creativity of combining looks:) Oh, and about the ironing board cover...ours is in quite a state too!
    -Madison
    www.1minniemuse.blogspot.com

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  2. Oh, I can't wait to see what you come up with!

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  3. How wonderfully lovely! There is such a powerful depth of elegance and sartorial allure to Moroccan garments and those inspired by them. It's awesome of you to make your sister a dress. I'm sure it's going to be stunning and that she's going to look fantastic in it.

    ♥ Jessica

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  4. Oh, I can't wait to see how the dress turns out! It should be lovely! And, yes, you're not the only one with the ironing board problem. :) I need to replace mine too.

    Brigid
    the Middle Sister and Singer

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  5. I think it is so cool that you're doing this for your sister. It's wonderful that the school is having such a fun theme for the dance, and also that it resonates so much with you and with your sister. I'm sure the dress will be absolutely divine (loving the color scheme up there), and I can't wait to see what the finished product looks like!
    Zella Maybe

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  6. That pile of fabrics and trims looks absolutely dreamy and I can't wait to see the end result. As the recipient of a number of outfits lovingly made by an older sister, I'm sure it will be much appreciated! :)

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  7. I can't wait to see the results. The fabrics look lovely. I just recently replace my ironing board cover. I bought one from the store but I'll bet a homemade one would be cuter (and probably better quality!)

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