I love pretty much everything Kate Middleton wears. Her style is so clean, modest, and classic. This is my Kate Knock Off Dress and I love love love it.
I made it specifically for a wedding we attended recently but it'll get worn to church often.
These are some of my Pinterest photos that I used for inspiration. There were others as well but these captured the shape and the lace overlay look I was going for
The dress is self-drafted from scratch. Well, not really from scratch because by now I have a standard block that seems to be working for me, but since that original block is from scratch with no commercial pattern help I still count this as a totally original pattern. My first dress from this block has worn well so I kept the 'bones' of the block and tried to improve on a few of the finer points.
As for drafting and fit, I am pleased with this dress. It fits well and I spent a lot of time improving the armhole and sleeves with good results. I now feel like I have a really good armhole and sleeve draft that I can save as 'keepers' and use over and over again. I love the elbow length sleeves that Kate wears and I think it looks nice on my rectangular body type (I'm not an apple or a pear shape - I'm a popsicle stick). :) Other than messing with the sleeves there wasn't anything too complicated in the drafting of this dress - regular side bust darts and back darts on the bodice.
I love the drape of the skirt - just enough body without being poofy.
The neckline is a bit of a high boatneck, nothing fancy. I usually like a bit more going on around the neckline because I'm pretty small chested and its easy to look very blah up top. For this dress, however, I really wanted the fabric and the silhouette to shine so I think the boatneck is okay.
There is an invisible zipper in the center back. I'm pleased to say its actually invisible. I've gotten much better at those lately.
The belt was made separately and then tacked to the dress at the side seams (mostly so I can't lose it!). The folds/pleats on the belt are hand tacked in place so it always folds nicely. It closes in the back with snaps.
The fabric for this dress is a somewhat custom made. I really wanted a lace and a shiny fabric for underneath in the same color. Unfortunately all I could find locally (that wasn't white) were really dark, rich, jewel tones and I wanted this dress to be a lighter pastel. Enter costume shop expertise! Not mine, mind you, but one of my bosses. I bought the light dusty blue satin and white lace and he expertly dyed the lace to match the blue. The color really 'makes' the dress so I am very thankful for his help. Someday I'll maybe mess around with dying fabric but it wasn't in the cards for this project and I'm so glad he was willing to just do it for me. :) This picture shows both fabrics.
This dress is properly lined with the blue satin - here is an interior shot. Properly lining clothes is another skill I've improved on in the last year or so. The grey and pink dress is great looking on the outside but the inside is a bit of a mess so that is an obvious improvement - this one is far more comfortable in that regard!
The skirt pieces were treated separately and I hemmed (by machine) the satin a tad shorter than the lace so that you don't really see the satin layer. This photo is looking from the inside.
So... there you have it. My Kate Knock Off that I'm very proud to wear!
What a great Kate dress knockoff! It is lovely on you....the color is even nicer in person! The costume shop did a wonderful dye job on it! Definitely a keeper draft!
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