Hanna's Concert Gown: Part 2

My concert gown has been the biggest sewing project I've tackled in my seamstress career. Not only did I have to draft the pattern for the underdress from 3 different patterns, I had no instructions how to work with the upper layer or how to put all the elements together. I'm so proud of the end result! This project really showed me how much I've developed as a seamstress over the years.

I showed you little glimpses of the neckline and the dress in progress in part 1. Now you can see the beaded neckline in full glory. I was a little bit afraid that the neckline would have too much bling, but seeing it on the finished dress, I think it's just bright enough.

As you can see, I've swapped the wider ribbon for a narrower one. I didn't feel comfortable with the way the wide ribbon kept rushing together, plus the narrower ribbon makes my legs look super long. And that's a big plus when you have legs as short as mine.

I'm  in love with the whole ensamble! I think the earrings (tutorial here) complete the dress. I thought they might be too much given the sparkling neckline, but when you're on stage, everything has to be larger than life, so that it would have an effect from the 20th row as well.

I couldn't be more pleased with the way my gown turned out. I'm especially happy that I was able to create my design exactly the way I imagined it from the beginning. Finishing this dress has given me so much encouragement to get going with sewing projects I thought I didn't have the skills to tackle. It just proves that I can make anything if I want it badly enough.