Qipao revisited – summer rayon

Remember a few years ago i had a Qipao craze after watching “In the mood for love“?

I had made three qipao so far. The first two fit very poorly and i have salvaged the frog buttons from there. The last one fit very well – Ive worn it to work parties and its pretty good! Though recently I’ve been wanting a even better fitted, and classic cut qipao.

I found Lekaka’s chinese dress pattern– Ive been wanting to try their customized pattern for a while and the cost of a pattern is pretty low. I entered my three measurements and entered some adjustment – narrower shoulder, shorter back, etc. It was easier than i thought! And guess what? the pattern came out quite perfect – i just had to pinch in an inch in the back!! (I didnt like how the sleeves fitted here though. I redrafted that for the next version). I added $0.50 to add seam allowance, so the pattern came out to be around $3. If my figure changes in the future drastically, i will need to purchase another one with the new measurement. But for the low cost, i really am digging this pattern company!

After consultation with hubby we decided an ankle length for this qipao looked the best. I did not over fit the qipao – this rayon challis feels pretty stretchy and not very strong – so I didnt want to stress the fabric. Having it just skim over my figure feels pretty good. Besides I still got that pooch to hide. Being a short girl, I used to never wear anything ankle-length. But recently I’ve stopped feeling the need to “look tall and skinny”. I really like this look on me – esp in the mirror. I feel cute and petite and pixie.

Love the fit in the back!

Silk remnant for edge of the front closure. I also made tiny delicate frog closure. This Qipao opens the classic way – meaning a zipper on the side and it opens up in the front where the purple line is. By the way – sewing with a smaller seam allowance is SO MUCH EASIER – esp when you are dealing with curves and zippers!

Wish i have a corner in the house to do a poster shot like these, but for now this will do.

Obviously I dont make dresses that is modest all the way. If the top is covered the bottom will see some light!

The rayon is very soft – and the pattern feels quite casual. I originally made this to wear to a friend’s wedding. But then I decided is this casual and more suitable for daily wear. I’ve work it to the library, market, etc. If you live in the US (maybe just california), you would know – I am dressing up WAY TOO MUCH for America/California. But when a girl loves a dress… she will defy social code to wear it 😛 I’ve gotten quite some double takes from random people – not just guys – but its not quite the bad kind, i think 🙂