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The first dress I made (pictured with my dance partner at a competition).

Competitive ballroom dancing involves wearing beautiful, fancy dresses, but they cost hundreds of dollars that I didn’t have in college. I decided after my first year that I would create my own dresses and learn how to make patterns and sew.

This project taught me new skills and allowed me to create dresses at a fraction of the cost.

I’ve always enjoyed experiencing new creative outlets and adding to my list of skills, and this project was no different.

Dress Designs

I competed in events that required two different dresses: a short one and a long one. The design on the left uses pink fringe as the main material. The design on the right uses a mix of textured and ombre materials.

Final Dresses

I successfully created the above two dresses by

  • Creating original patterns on Adobe Illustrator
  • Cutting and dyeing fabric
  • Sewing everything using my sewing machine
  • Completing small alterations to adjust the overall fit.

All in all, I’ve always been crafty (and scrappy), and this project was a fantastic way to enhance my skills in a new setting