So I wrote this post in my draft two days before my birthday but didn't have the chance to get it edited and published, it was the busiest week of this entire year for me, making my dress, my sister's, the bride's dress, my other siblings and my mum's outfit as well, you can imagine how hectic I was so I feel so uneasy right now to clear off this draft, so bear with me, as I will let it be, it was suppose to be the part 1 of my birthday dress making process, let's just merge this and the completed /finished look, don't you agree? I'm sure you do, ok, let's have it hehe

Hello, and a happy day to you all, even more than I feel at this moment, yay! I can't keep calm, I'm already counting down to my big day, not just mine alone, but also that of my younger sister, my birthday, and her wedding on the same day, tell me why I shouldn't be exploding with excitement.

On this day, I managed to make my sister's dress to completion, but waiting for the professional shoots and of course, her big day to reveal the masterpiece I created, I knew she was going to make a beautiful bride( she did). For mine, I'm just as excited doubling as the birthday girl and bride's sister, I got to look the part hehe, so far I've been able to complete the base of my dress, in my excitement, I will be sharing with us how far I've gone, the base of my outfit, an illusion corset dress is where most of the work goes to before the final look, it's only right for me to share this part, let's consider this post as the part 1 process of my birthday outfit, to be frank, I wasn't sure of what to make, even when I left my house to the market to source for fabric, funny enough, I had lots of ideas for my sister before leaving, but totally blanked about mine, it wasn't until I set my eyes on the beautiful lace fabric in the color wine which also reflects the spirit of Christmas did inspiration start flooding in.

I've always watched reels of celebrity fashion designers making this very same outfit base, before revealing the final masterpiece of their creation, so I challenged myself to recreate mine as well, even though the time is short, I know my determination is stronger💪

To make the corset illusion base dress, the materials used are,

• Corset mesh
• Boning
• Dutchess fabric
• lace fabric
• skin tone tulle

Cutting and sewing Process

• I started by drafting the corset pattern on paper, I made sure to label the pattern pieces so I don't get confused.

• Then I transferred them to my corset mesh material,

• Next, I joined the pattern pieces together for both front and back and drew the lines where I wanted the boning sewed on.

• I cut out strips of the dutchess fabric and used them to pipe the boning before sewing on the mesh

• Continuing, I made sure to cover my bra cups with the dutchess fabric, before sewing them around the bust area

• I also created loop rings on the back of the corset.

For the base of the dress, I used a straight skirt pattern, also the dutchess fabric.

At this point, I was ready to have the first fitting of my dress, and it balanced on my body perfectly, then I sewed the yoke on and also used the lace fabric to cover the cups, using the fabric placement method.

Now unto the final look, I made this structured sleeve, getting my inspiration from a Nigerian celebrity fashion designer known as Prudential, this will be my first time making this sleeve design, at first, it looked like a puffy sleeve, but no I made the sleeves using three structured pattern.

To finish the base of my dress, I draped the lace fabric on the plain dutchess, I am slim in stature, and wanted a little exaggerated hip effect, without needing to use a hip pad in my dress, the side drapes helped achieve that.

My dress looks finished, I even wore it like that, but my ideas aren't finished on this dress yet, because I will be adding more beads to it, on the sleeves and waistline. Above all, I'm happy the day was a success, it was my best birthday ever, all thanks to my loving family and friends for making my day a memorable one.

The bride's look comes next, and I will surely share my post in this wonderful creative community.

*All images used in this post are mine

Thank you for reading.❤❤