Every time I see a new gown during fashion week, I find myself staring at it and wishing I had a reason to make something similar. Alas, I’ve no red carpets to walk down any time soon, but everyone needs a good cocktail dress in their wardrobe. Mood is putting out more and more gorgeous embroidered laces recently and I knew while designing The Magnolia Dress (inspired by one of the Marchesa gowns I constantly dream of), I needed to get my hands on some. Like many, this meant doing some budgeting. Luckily, Mood has some stunning satin that you would never guess was polyester!
Fabrics & materials used:
- 3 yards Silver Solid Polyester Satin
- 1 yard Lavender and Yellow Novelty Floral Embroidered Mesh
- 24″ Pale Gray Invisible Zipper
- 1/2 yard Single-Face Fusible Interfacing
- MDF043 – The Magnolia Dress Sewing Pattern (free download below!)
Step 1
Begin by interfacing your two strap panels. Fold them each in half, separately matching up the faces of the fabric, and stitch along the length. Rather than hide the seam, press it so it’s about 1/2″ from the top of the strap, like you see below. This will be the front of the straps, and look like a pleat. Set the straps aside temporarily.
Step 2
Next, start on the bodice of the dress. Sew the side front panels to the center front, stopping at the top notch, like you can see below.
Step 3
Pin the overlay to the center front, and pin outward toward the edge of your center front panel. Create a 1.5″ dart with the lace and continue sewing the center front to the side front panels, sandwiching the overlay dart in between, like in the photo below.
Step 4
Take this moment to fit the bodice to the wearer. Pull the overlay taught and pin to raw edges of your side front panels. Trim any extra lace.
Step 5
Take each of your straps and lay them 1″ from the top of your side front panels. Pin them into place and trim the end to match the angle of your side panel.
Step 6
Pin your overlay pieces to their respective side back and center back panels and then sew the side back to the side front, with the strap layered in between.
Step 7
Following the guidelines on your pattern pieces pleat and iron each of the the satin over lay panels. Pin and sew them together in the center front, and then pin the sides to the raw edge of the side back panels like below.
Step 8
Add your center back bodice panels and you’re ready to start on your lining! I love when a lining can perfectly match a garment, and since this satin is so wallet-friendly, I chose to use it for constructing the inside of the bodice as well. This layer goes together much easier than the first: center front, side fronts, side backs, and then center back respectively.
Step 9
Pin the loose end of your straps to the back of your bodice outer layer. Press all of your seams flat and then pin and sew your lining along the top edge of your bodice, sewing the straps into place as well.
Step 10
Attach your skirt to the bottom of the outer bodice layer, and then insert an invisible zipper along the center back of your dress.
Step 11
Fold the raw edges of your bodice lining inward and pin and slip-stitch into place along the zipper and waistline.
Step 12
Lastly, finish off your skirt with a tiny rolled hem, and your new cocktail dress is complete!
I love how many options Mood has on their site for embroidered mesh and lace. Which one will you be using for your dress? Let me know in the comments!
That’s really gorgeous.
Perfect! I just picked up a small amount of expensive lace that looks very similar to the lace used in this dress, and I was trying to figure out how to use it. This pattern is perfect 🙂
This pattern link is to the Nyssa Dress. I sent my email and then went to the Nyssa dress and got an error message. When I downloaded the linked pattern it is the Nyssa Dress. So where is the Magnolia Dress link? Thank you again!
It should be all fixed now! Sorry for the issue, you should be able to request this one again 🙂
That is SO gorgeous.
LOVE this pattern (and I am over 60!) and want one to wear to dances!
Yes Bev! Do follow your heart’s desire and sew up this gorgeous number! If you do it – sew will I!
Please let me know with your reply 🙂
Where do I find that floral lace?
There’s a link up top, under the materials list 🙂
Fell in love with this dress pattern. Downloaded the pattern then ordered the fabric from MOOD, I live in England, but in November travelling to New York. First on the list Mood.
Beautiful design!
Will be making this dress for a wedding in Vietnam, thank you!
Anyone have pictures to share of their finished products? I’d love to see more color combos!
Any advice on making a floor length version?
Hi Carla – That should be fairly easy! You may just need to cut the skirt in panels. You could follow the skirt portion of our Iberis Gown and meld the two patterns together!
cette robe est juste magnifique, jessayerai de me la faire et merci pour ce patron.
Thanks for the beautiful pattern I worked 16 hours on it and finished it today. You kan see the result in this link for some inspiration for fabric: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_koKRmJV-C/?igshid=1p8y0qnk5q9qa
It came out wonderful!
What are your recommendations for ironing seams? I understand its tricky when using satin. Any tips?
Hi, Shannon! I recommend pressing with a low heat and a press cloth or muslin in between the iron and your garment. 🙂
Does the size chart refer to FINISHED measurements??
The size chart is based on body measurements. 🙂
Hi I love this dress yet sewing satin scares me could this be made in an alternative fabric? Suggestions would be great.
Hi Clare! Alternatively, you could make this dress in a more casual silhouette by using a cotton sateen. 😀
Can I make this without lace?
Hi there! Yes you can – we just added the lace as an overlay. 😀
Can this be made with silk? I’ve never sewn with silk before and it’s my dream to sew a beautiful silk dress!
Hi Ashley, yes silk would work! 🙂
Hi there! I’m stuck partway through sewing this dress and hoping you can help me: how is the criss-cross part of the straps at the front being attached to the main part of the bodice? I’ve attached both ends but the length of the straps are still loose. Do the long sides of the straps get sewn in between the fashion fabric and lining layer? Or are they hand sewn down afterwards? Or something else entirely? Thanks!
Hi Janet!
Thanks for visiting the Mood Sewciety Blog! We’re proud to have released over 350 free sewing patterns, and we hope you’re enjoying them.
Behind the scenes we’re a dedicated team of three, and we want to be able to offer top notch support. We have exciting plans for our patterns on the horizon, and as we continue to grow, we’ve decided to focus our sewist support on patterns from the last 2 years. If this pattern hasn’t been recently reduxed or updated, we won’t be able to respond to technical questions on these older posts.
If you come across any pattern errors, rest assured our team is on it – just let us know!
Don’t miss out on our Mood Sewciety Facebook Group – a fantastic space for fellow sewists to connect, share wins, and tackle challenges together.
Thank you for your understanding and happy sewing!
Hi Janet! My friend and I had the same problem, so after a while of figuring out how to make it look nice, we stitched in the ditch for the front of the straps. I don’t know if that was the intended method, but it worked for us. And we actually made it look pretty nice considering we didn’t bother doing a lining lol.