Brocade McCalls 5349 (and another Heidi)

I am going to a wedding this week, on Thursday evening.
I was going to wear vintage Heidi, with a sparkly turquoise crystal necklace, but thinking about the dress code (which is "Fancy"), and seeing what my friends were planning on wearing (umm, Fancy!), I began to doubt myself and think vintage Heidi might be too 'daytime'. I went to the stash and found this chinese brocade I forgot had been given to me, and made McCall's 5349 which I have wanted to make for a long time. With some modifications, this is the result:
I made a plain sash out of the reverse of the brocade, instead of the cummerbund. I love the cummerbund, but the brocade was just too thick to sit properly. The pattern calls for an under-bodice (due to having the sheer overdress option) but I just made a panel and hand-stitched it to the bodice lining for a similar effect. I experimented with using the reverse side of the fabric for the panel, but the dark blue looked better. Here she is without the sash:
The sash has covered buttons and button loops. It's a bit sad that it falls down to my natural waist instead of sitting over the midriff band. Maybe I will tack it on and see how it looks.
A couple of weeks ago I made a quick modified Heidi out of red ponte de roma. Probably not a great idea because the fabric is thick so the pleats are a bit exaggerated, and overlocking and turning the neckline was a pain and didn't turn out so well. Oh and obviously I didn't press it before taking the photos, oops. It's wearable thankfully.

Brocade McCall's 6030

Here is the brocade version of the frock from my last post.
I made the back skirt pleats into darts this time, and made 4 front skirt pleats instead of the 8 the pattern suggests. 2 bigger pleats on each side is more than enough for this stiff-ish fabric.

Since I took the photos I have tacked down the front and back facings so they don't roll out anymore. I might have to put some bra strap holders in because despite shortening the straps a little and narrowing the neckline a smidge, the frock's straps fall off my shoulders occasionally.

I made a little matchy clutch to carry too, with disco strap.

Moggy was in Sydney for work yesterday, and we met up for breakfast in Surry Hills, where she forced me to buy this wool blend at the Fabric Store. FORCED ME.
Might make a little coat.