It's me again, talking about this formal dress... I wouldn't be so concerned about this except that I've already shown up to this event improperly attired once, and I don't want to eff up again.

I'm planning on doing something like the middle one here - http://store.sewingtoday.com/cgi-bin/butterick/shop.cgi?s.item.6533=x&TI=10003&pageNum=7&M=&UK=20032187

Black, strapless, long, simple.

But most of the women there will be in formal tartan, which I don't have. The only dress tartan my mother has a bolt of is the dress Confederate, and I didn't want that. And I don't really have the time or money to buy tartan fabric right now at $40-50 a yard.

So, what i was thinking... since my husband's tartan is pretty easy to find in various types of fabric (although I'm having some trouble - still looking - it's that blue and green plaid that's on everything), I thought this morning that perhaps I could accessorize the black dress with it. A bag and a necklace. I know you can make jewelry from fabric, I've just never done it. Long necklace or short? What type of bag?

OMG, I'm stressing way too much over this and it's only a month away.

Help! What to do?

Butterick has some evening bag patterns, check those out. I *love* the dress- very simple and elegant. And easy to make ;).

Butterick patterns are $1.99 today through Sunday at Hancock fabrics. I'm going over there to get some new ones myself. I think making the purse out of tartan is a great idea. I have no idea how to make jewelry out of fabric. Don't stress over it, the purse should be enough. I think that dress would look beautiful with a bare neck or just a simple short sparkly necklace.

Susannah

If you're a pattern whore like I am, Joann has Vogue for $4.99 and McCall's and Butterick for $1.99 Aug 25-31. :-)

make a short necklace not long.
Totally make a little nahdbag to go with it! That would be great.
I don't know if you like this sort of thing. But you could also make one of those fabric flowers out of the tarten that matches your hubbies and attatch it to the top left of your dress. Or you could have a tarten fabric in your hair somehow.

Or a very skinny tarten scarf that would wrap around your neck 3 times and could have beeads along the ends

wuzzled, you know what I think would be friggin gorgeous. A choker. Either a wide band of the tartan or a slimmer one to which you could attach a matching flower or black silk flower... or dangle something from like a cameo or portrait pendant.
As for the bag, so easy without a pattern. Do you know what shape you want? If you want something simple you could do a little drawstring one out of a circle of the tartan trimmed with the dress fabric and add little black beads or whatever.

britchic, do you know how often you are in my head? I made lots of chokers like that in high school. This time, I was thinking about this: I have a thin silver choker than usually has a lightning bolt pendant on it. I could take the bolt off and make a yo-yo out of the tartan over a round piece of wire to give it shape, and put that on the choker. Sort of a big round tartan choker pendant. I don't know if that explained what was in my head or not.

As for the bag - I was thinking roll bag. (Like the red one here - http://store.sewingtoday.com/cat/itm_img/3420.jpg) Does anybody know how you make those keep their shape? But I was totally thinking about using dress fabric and black beads, britchic. You are so in my head. :-)

Wuzzled, I was thinking about making something like this, and decided to use really thin cardboard. I buy those small boxes of Fancy Feast for my cat, and in between the layers they use something that's the perfect weight. You just wouldn't be able to get it wet...I also love the idea of a toque. Unless you like them tons, screw the plaid and go sexy sexy sexy. That dress is hot!

A traditional way for a woman to wear the tartan:

A long piece, maybe 2yds long by about 1ft wide, pinned to the shoulder with a gorgeous brooch.

Just a thought. I think it would look nice with the dress you're planning on wearing.

I, personally, would wear my amber necklace or hunt down a torc. That would put the other women there to shame.


Edited to add: Site with pictures of torcs.
Gorgeous, aren't they?
>http://www.mystic-caravan.com/CCtorcs.htm

Another vote for the short necklace. I really like the chocker idea.

Also, if you want a little more tartan in your outfit maybe you can use a few yards of fabric to make yourself a wrap. I think it would look nice, and if at anytime during the evening you feel that you have too much plaid going on, you can just leave it on the back of your chair.

Claymore - the sash was the original plan before I started getting all creative. I've just never liked the darn things.

Wuzzled that is so funny. I was going to ask you the same thing the other day, or say "were we separated at birth", especially when you started that thread "there oughta be a law..." I was ranting about the exact same thing the other day and then suddenly you brought it up. But I digress. I just read that you might have decided against the dress, so this post may be redundant but if you still want to do the same bag, cardboard circles would be the way to go for the ends of the bag and a layer of batting and/or interfacing for the body. I can elabprate on what I have done with a similar bag if you are still interested.
britchic, your cybertwin

I like the idea of the traditional sash- very respectful to the tradition- you could dress it up with an edge of beading if you wanted.

or you could trin your dress with the plaid fabric- a couple of inch band along the top and then a band along the bottom-

or what if you did a box pleat in the skirt and used the plaid for the insert?

if you do decide to wear the sash- you could still wear a delicate crystal choker or some dangly black earrings....

I was thinking along the lines of what some other ladies here have suggested.

*2 yard "shawl" of tartan draped over one shoulder and secured with beautiful pin, that's the most elegant and most correctly traditional way to wear the tartan.

*simple ribbon choker of the tartan--very elegant.

*I also suggest perhaps a 2" band of the tartan to trim your chest--you can simply baste it down for easy removal later if you wish. With a tasteful FLAT bow at the front--beautiful.

*I also suggest, if you have no problem accentuating your waist, a 3" band of the tartan tied into a lovely bow at the back.

I will send you a Photoshop file if you can read it and clarify these ideas--it's just easier to see something visual than hear it described.

Best of luck!
Dollie