Ready for the Races

This is one of my favourite pieces to date. It was worn to the Sligo Races in 2008 and came in 3rd place in the best dressed competition.

The dress was made with a beautiful lace and I created ruffles using oraganza, chiffon and anything else I could find in the right colours!

The hat started out as a plain straw hat. I painted it cream and added flowers made with the same fabrics in the dress. Some old jewellery was salvaged to add detail to the flower centres.

The Ivory Jumpsuit

This was definitely one of my more ambitious undertakings! It has a beautiful ruffled neckline, low in the front and back. The trouser legs slit open to the thigh.

This is a picture of it before I added sleeves. Unfortunately I don't have one of the finished product! The sleeves were chiffon.

Purple Dreams

This was the first dress I made for my sister Andrea.

It was made using the leftover fabric from her bridesmaids dresses.

It was probably one of my first original designs and had been an idea I had in mind since I started dressmaking. It took quite a while to make and it went through a few metamorphosis along the way!

Black and Silver Halter Neck Dress

Another of the early creations! A halter neck dress made with satin and organza.

The waistband is embellished with lace and swarovski crystals.

Turquoise Chiffon Dress

1950s Fever!

This is the first dress I made for my sister Yvonne.

This was made from the leftover fabric from her bridesmaids dresses. She loves 1950's style dresses!

Fantastic Family

I will always be grateful to my family! They believed in me even when I didn't.

The first dress I made for my mum was for my sisters wedding. She may have been a little apprehensive to begin with but loved the end result! It was a green chiffon lined with gold and I used a gorgeous lace for the waistband and wrap.

I also made the flower girl dress for my beautiful niece.

The First Comission

My sister commissioned me to make her bridesmaids dresses for her wedding in July 2008. They had a very simple shape with detail in the straps and the rose brooches on the back. The brooches began my addiction to making flowers and eventually led me to start making headpieces.

Beading Ambition

This dress was my second creation and a little more ambitious than the first! I couldn't find a pattern for the collar style I wanted so this was my first experience of altering a pattern.

I spent about a week sewing hundreds of beads onto the collar. The collar is still one of my favourite pieces I have done so far!

The First Dress

I got my first taste of sewing in school when I was about 13 years old and I had to make a top for home economics class. The end result as far as I can remember was an ill fitting mess but I was hooked! From there I began altering my clothes but I didn't start really making anything until much later.

In August 2007 I bought my first sewing machine and this dress (which really didn't seem so shiny at the time!) was my first creation. It wasn't by any means an original, I followed a pattern to make it but not bad for a first attempt I suppose!