I’ve recently started a new venture which has taken my attention from some of my other art projects. And that venture is… I’m learning how to sew. Now you’re thinking, “well, that’s awesome Tanya! You finally have a good, practical skill you can put to use!”
To that I say, “Yes! But I would have never gotten here if I wasn’t a total nerd.” And why is that? Because the only reason I’m learning how to sew is because I wanted to make my own lolita dress, and I want my own lolita dress because I’m going to Comic Con! See? Nerdiness teaches me all kinds of skills.
I just wanted to share part of the journey I’ve been on for the past month or so as I’v been working towards making a lolita dress. There’s a lot involved. Lolita dresses are super fancy, and, well…. I don’t really know how to sew, besides making plushies. As my dad said, I’m probably picking the hardest first sewing project ever.
But that’s why it’s been so fun. I’m making something I think is really cool.
So! Here’s the first few steps that I have taken (and that you all can take) if you want to learn to make a lolita dress and become a DIY lolita!
Making Your First Dress
1: Find Inspiration
I wasn’t able to find any patterns that specifically were for a lolita style dress, so I knew that I would be making lots of modifications to any pattern I bought. I decided to become well-versed in recognizing different lolita styles, and especially in the style I like best, which is classical lolita. Most of what I did involved saving pictures to my computer from Google images and reading about the different styles on forums.
Most of all, I just wanted to find what gets me excited. I learned that I love the look of a jumper skirt over a blouse. I love lots of ruffles. I discovered what colors I like. I encourage you to go forth and do the same. This is one of the funnest parts!
2: Get a pattern
I started out trying to sew something without a pattern. It didn’t go so great. If you are a beginner and are thinking of doing the same, forget it. Patterns are a must until you’ve got down the basics of clothing construction. The good news is that stores like Jo-Ann sell dress patterns for pretty cheap, and Amazon has a huge selection of dresses that could easily be modified to turn them into a lolita style. That’s what I did.
This pattern is called New Look sewing pattern 6699, and I got it for $10 on Amazon. It’s called a mix and match pattern because there are several tops sleeves, bodices, and skirts all included in this one pattern, and you can choose which to put together. I’ve only made one so far, but it’s been awesome.
3: Get materials
You do kind of need a lot of supplies for this. Hopefully you already have a sewing machine. Other things you might want to invest in are thread (in a similar color to the fabric you’ll be using), fabric scissors, pins, pinking shears (unless you have a serger for the seams), a measuring tape (so you can be sure of what size you are), and a zipper (in whatever size your pattern instructs. Mine was a 14-inch).
Most of all, you’ll need fabric.
This is what I ended up with after day one of shopping. I bought the two cheapest fabrics that I could find at Jo-Ann. The brown was $3 per yard and the blue was $4. I got three yards of each. I wasn’t really thrilled about the brown, but got it anyway, because it was so cheap. I decided to use it for my “practice dress,” and then use the blue for my real lolita dress, since I actually love it.
Disclaimer: Make sure to buy enough fabric. Three yards was barely, barely enough to finish my practice dress. Your pattern should tell you how much fabric to buy. If you’re making a lining for your dress, you’ll use more fabric than you think.
4: Sew a practice dress
Now it’s time to cut out that pattern and use it to cut up your fabric, take it to the machine, and sew away. The actual sewing part takes a lot of time. I may make a tutorial about the actual process in the near future, but just know that it’s a lot of fun, and very gratifying. It’s so cool to see the progress that you are making and know that you will soon be able to actually wear these half-sewn pieces of fabric.
Your room might start looking like this:
You might also make mistakes.
Be patient with yourself. Mistakes can usually be fixed with a little extra elbow grease.
You’ll start to make progress…
And before long…
You’ll have a beautiful, finished (practice) dress!
This journey has been so cool. I’ve learned so much, and am that much closer to making my beautiful final lolita dress for Comic Con. I can’t wait!
Next episode: I’ll show you the second dress I’ve been working on, partially using my patterns and fabric, and partially using a long thrift store skirt that I decided to turn in to a dress!
