The black sateen I bought would work for something else entirely.  I’m a fan of gender bending type fashion, and I like creating feminine clothing using masculine elements.  I have some gorgeous crisp white sateen leftover from Megan’s Vendetta (another dress that fought me).  I might also incorporate the guipure lace and the ribbon- maybe.

Click for source article on suits… “Suited Up- Stuffy or Stylish?”

Cary Grant

What’s black and white and easily transitions from masculine to feminine?

Click for the article “Yves St Laurent Did Not Invent the Tuxedo for Women”

The tux.  Of course, plenty of stylish women simply wear an actual tuxedo- like Marelene Dietrich in the movie “Morocco” (I’m trying to locate a copy).

Or Gloria Swanson, a silent film star.

But I’m making a dress, and I want to really have some fun with it.

This dress from Moschino caught my eye- I love that the dickey is used as back interest, the pleating and the black buttons.  I know this shape isn’t the most flattering for my body, however, and I also want my dickey on the front.  Still a cool dress.

I like this dress- but I can’t find the maker so if you know please tell me.  It has pockets!  The shape is pretty cool, and I like the black insets on the white pleated dickey.  That said, I want sleeves (it’s chilly here right now!) and a wing collar.

Mark Jacobs Crepe Tuxedo Dress

I like the collar/lapels on this dress, the velvet (?) inset and the front slit.  In fact, I think I like this dress *too* much.  Severe, simple lines often attract me, but I have to be extremely careful to soften the look, or the cut, or the color.   But dear me, my inner Puritan loves this frock.

Small Earth Vintage

This is another dress I probably wouldn’t wear myself, but I do like its whimsical play on the tux.

5226 by Celia Kritharioti Tuxedo front dress

I like this shape the most, except I think I want elbow length sleeves, maybe with faux cuffs.  And of course, a wing collar rather than a shirt collar.

As I dug around in my sewing room for inspiration, I found this 1960′s dress pattern Debi sent me some time ago.  The back is quite ordinary (we can fix that!) and it’s a simple cut with some cool front seaming.  I think the white section will fit quite well in the upper middle section, and if I decide I need a waistline I can cut the dress in half and add a “cummerbund.”  I may do that anyway.

This is my main project this week.  I have two patterns I’m working on to release as pdfs, but I’m having some tech issues so I’m focusing on this dress all week.  I’m really excited about it, I’ll work through fitting and drafting a wing collar and pleating and embellishment.  I don’t know what the finished dress will look like yet, I guess we’ll find out together.

If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for the Frock Out Giveaway!

Which dress do you like best?  Yes or no to the lace?

Also, automatics usually make buttonholes only 1″(2.5cm) long or less.  You can also use this technique to make a longer buttonhole if desired (though it will probably droop).

My rectangle-guide is a little crazy, if that makes your heart stop then do draw a little buttonhole-window with tidier angles.  Whatever helps you get the job done.  Also, my buttonhole isn’t perfect.  I was talking and stitching.  Practice until yours is better than mine, it’s worth it.

I used a stitch width of 5.0 for the bar tacks at the end, and 2.0 for the “legs.”  The stitch length is .3.  Depending on your machine, your threads and your fabric you may need to use different settings.

Many, many thanks to Stephen for his camera work.  (Next time I’ll get him to go in tight on the stitching!)  I used this buttonhole technique after we filmed for his pajamas, so now he can wear them.

Does anyone know of any other online tutorials that show another way to do this?  How do you make buttonholes?