Meet JLo😊 Named after the inspiration for several poses for my photoshoot!
I reached a milestone this year and just celebrated my 30th birthday! Since my plans for celebrating in Thailand were canceled due to the pandemic, I decided to commemorate the big day with a photoshoot. I wanted a “flashy” outfit and figured this would be the perfect time to make use of some sequins fabric that I’d recently purchased from Joann. This was my first time completing a sequins outfit and I now see why people avoid working with it. There was soooo much prep work removing the sequins from the seam allowances, but it was worth it! I loved how the final outfit turned out. McCall’s M8021 is a great pattern for sequins fabric because there aren’t many seams or any darts or other complicated elements.
Pattern: McCall’s M8021
Fabric: Sequins fabric from Joann Fabrics
Challenges/modifications: I shortened the dress by several inches because I wanted it to be a short, sassy number. I also omitted the pockets because I was in a rush to finish…what was I thinking? Definitely not skipping the pockets next time. Also, the directions suggest slip-stitching on part of the sleeve and I just didn’t find it necessary to do it that way. If you sew the sleeve to the bodice for the lining and the main fabric like normal and finish the ends of the sleeves last, there is no need to slip-stitch.
Sewing Difficulty: 1/4🧵
This pattern is very easy to put together. Great for a beginner! The most difficult part of making this dress was prepping and sewing the sequins fabric, but the pattern itself only had a few pieces and wouldn’t have taken long at all to whip up had I used a different fabric.
📸Also, special shoutout to my photographer, CJ Sumlin. You can find him here:
