Hey friends! I celebrated my 35th birthday a couple weeks ago and created a quick outfit to mark the occasion.
Fabric
I purchased this silver faux sequin confetti from Fabric.com for use as a tablecloth for my son’s Two the Moon birthday party. I saved a portion for later, but I realized I had this perfect rectangle piece that I draped as a cowl neck dress!
My goal was to use up the fabric I had with a design that was quick!
I think this fabric is even more beautiful in person, especially if you like glittery and shiny things! I thought it would look too flimsy for clothing, but with the right lining and construction it can make a cool outfit! (I actually ordered more of this fabric!)
I lined this faux sequin with a white jersey knit. This gave the dress a bit more body and made it not see through! I didn’t have all the lining I needed so it’s missing about 2″ from the hem!
Pattern
This “pattern” is a quick DIY! I’ve made several quick makes that require little to no sewing! It’s really fun to discover easy glam techniques like this style!
I started with a rectangle 19″ wide and cut a triangle out in the center for a cowl neck design. Start with cutting a line down your center front. How long will depend on where you want the neckline to be. Then, cut a diagonal line to meet the end of your center front line. In short – cut a triangle! Cut away the excess fabric.
To make the cowl neckline comfortable to wear, I made ties and sewed them to the front corners of my 19″ rectangle.
The ties are 2.5″ wide and 23″ long with a 1/2″ seam allowance. I used a single layer of fabric for each to make this quick!
Drafting the back pattern piece is easier if you copy from a stretch garment or a pattern you own. I freehanded it and tweaked it as I tried it on.
I started with my back measurement (at my armhole, which I’ll call mid-back), my back waist measurement, and my back hip measurement.
I minused about 2.5 inches from my mid-back meaurement, which gives it a negative ease since this fabric is very stretchy. I don’t know much about knits, but I tried it on several times before figuring that number out.
After that adjustment, I connected my back measurement to my waistline, then my hip line. I used my exact waist and hip measurements, with the seam allowance included in them, and that worked out!
Styling
I styled my sequin cowl neck birthday dress with a white blouse, sparkly earrings, and a turban style of the same fabric.
I wrapped my turban by first tying in the back, then twisting the long tails, then wrapping around at the top of my head to secure. In my final look here, I ended up twisting the tails and not using any pins!
Check out my Reel and TikTok in this outfit!
Thanks for reading!
-Ammara
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