Thowin' up some photos

...because I'll link to these from reviews later! LOL!

I put on the MOB dress last night...sans makeup, jewelry and P*ntyhose, just so My Sweet Baboo could snap a photo that I could use for the review.   The just-barely-visible bruise on my right leg just inside below the knee is, I think, from climbing up and down and leaning on the big aluminum ladder on the platform at church, using a steamer to get the wrinkles out of the background curtain.  Prince Charming joined me with a second steamer after a while, and the two of us got that thing fairly wrinkle-free in about an hour and a half.  But the bruise made P*ntyhose a necessity for the wedding...

The Butterick top pattern lines the garment to the edge on all the edges; I thought the neckline would stand open enough for the back side to show, so I made facings for the neck edge: 

All in all, the dress worked, although I didn't think about the petite adjustment I made through the upper chest and upper back also raising the waistline and the hem.  I'd've caught that in a second muslin...and if I ever make the dress again (and that's quite possible; I love this basic pattern), I'll add that length back in between the bust and the waistline.

And I just *might* aim for the length to be mid-knee, rather than the top of my knee.  Not sure I'm wild about that short of a length on me.

Here's another photo, which is not a very high-quality picture, but I love the composition once I cropped it.  It makes me smile...

The other wedding -related sewing I did was a surprise gift for the Princess's L*ingerie shower (such trouble I'm going to so that creepers won't land here with creepy searches!).  I hustled (and failed to have a clean house for the weekend) to make her a tap and cami set from Vogue 7837, from raspberry-sherbet colored silk charmeuse and some fancy lace I'd picked up a number of years ago at a serious Hancock's sale.  The only problem was shaping the lace to the edges; I ended up cutting the motifs apart and reconnecting them to fit the necessary curves.  Plus, the lace had no vertical symmetry, so it is just a wee bit uneven from side to side.   I had to shorten the top about 3 inches to get the lace to work right..but, to be honest, I think it was probably longer than she would've liked anyway:

Unfortunately, due to some glitches and goofs, she didn't actually GET the set until they were in the ready room preparing for the ceremony.  So I don' t know if she liked it or not or if it fit or not.  Guess I'll find out when they get back from the honeymoon...I don' t even know if it made it to the suitcase or if it got sent back to the apartment.


So, now to find some time to write the reviews! ;-)

Then and Now

I thought I'd do a little reminiscing...the first dress I reviewed for the Flute Player (she was, I think, 6) and the most recent dress I reviewed.

Sigh.  Time flies.

I will post more about the things sewed for the wedding as the week progresses.  Unfortunately, I did not manage to get a good shot of the MOB dress at any point Saturday, so I'll need to put it back on and have someone point the camera at it.  The pictures I did see, though, revealed some fit issues that the mirror did not.  I really could've benefited greatly from one more muslin; it's a pity I didn't have time.  But I did learn some things about drafting and fitting...and it probably fit at least as well as something bought RTW would've fit.

I read back over the wedding posts and realized I never mentioned what happened with the bridesmaid's dresses.  At the very point at which I was ready to dig in and start the manufacturing process, the Bride decided that it would be easier on me if each of the girls all just went out and bought a grey dress that she liked.  So long as it was sleeveless and knee length, she was happy with it.  So we had an eclectic mix of dresses in a couple of different shades of gray (one had some black accents, which went with the overall color scheme) that actually looked very nice together.  Made the guys, in their rented suits and matching ties, look kind of cookie cutterish in contrast.

And I suppose the best thing is that none of the girls will ever wear their dress in an 'Ugly Bridesmaids' pageant...

Even the Mascara Survived

I may have to put on the dress again for a proper photo for reviewing, but you can sort of see the finished product.  It was a lovely  day for a wedding, and a lovely ceremony, and I think I want to sleep for two days now...

The MOB Dress - part 2

I spent most of Labor Day working on the muslin.  Unfortunately, because the cheap fabric I was using was far too sheerish to put up on the world wide web, I don't have any photos to show you.  But I
1) Petited the upper bodice on both the front and back

2)shaved a wee bit off of both the side front and the side back where they went into the armhole, to reduce some gaping there

3) Added a bit to the armsceye; the raw edge was about where I wanted the seamed edge to fall from the bottom all the way around the front to the top, so I basically just added a seam allowance

4) took a bit off of both back princess seams below the high hip

5) shortened the length 1" (I plan to use 2" hem allowances) and

6) drafted neckline facings; I think the wrong side is going to show a bit and I'd much rather see the face fabric than the lining.  I also plan to reduce the seam allowances on the neckline so that it stands a bit higher.

I may not get back to it until Thursday...and this weekend is our annual Women's Conference , so, while the conference will be wonderful and I'm really looking forward to it, it's going to be a wash as far as time available for sewing.


And I don't think I have a suitable zipper in the stash...looks like a Hancock's run is is the works.

You see why I decided I wanted a simple style. ;-)

The MOB dress - Part1

I fully planned to make my dress last, after everything else was done, because I figured that if I had to wear a dress hanging in the closet already the world wouldn't end.

However, the tulle that the Princess had purchased to make her veil has been determined to be too yellow, and I've placed an order for some 'light ivory' tulle from fabricdotcom that will hopefully match her creamy white dress better.

But, it's a holiday weekend, and even with FdotC's typically speedy delivery, it'll be the end of the week before it gets here.

So...I figured I'd start on my dress.


I pulled down the Vogue Kay Unger dress pattern that I'd had pinned to my bulletin board for ages and found that I just didn't have the oomph to do it. I wanted something simpler.

However, I had this picture torn from a Coldwater Creek catalog (who knows HOW long ago) also pinned to the bulletin board:

That features one of the most flattering necklines I can wear; I've been looking at it and looking at it and it's been growing on me.

And it looks Very Simple...especially as I have Butterick 3843 in my stash, which includes a sleeveless top that is basically just the top 2/3 of that dress.

So I've pulled that out, traced it off, and added length to make it 22" long from the waist.   I traced a larger size than my heart wanted to trace, and my gut tells me it will be too big, but it is a VERY slim style and I definitely wanted room to move, sit and breath.  So I pursed my lips and went with the larger size.  The first alteration I made was to lower the bust point, which is just a requirement, and then I redesigned the armhole, following Alexandra's example.

It looks a little odd to me, but I'll give it a go and see if it makes a difference.

Now to make up the muslin and see how much I need to adjust before cutting the Good Stuff...

Ready for Fitting

Four hours from throwing the lining fabric on the cutting table I had the dress to the 'try on' stage; I need to put it on The Flute Player to adjust the shoulder straps before I go farther. Unfortunately, four hours later ended up being around 11:30 last night...too late...and the next three nights are BOOKED (not to mention the fact that we probably should pick up Suitable Foundation Garments beforehand); it may be Saturday before I actually get to see this on her.

However, once that's done, assuming it fits otherwise, all that's left is to clip/understitch the upper flounce seam and this dress is finished.

The Princess had cleaned out her small fabric stash and given me a couple of pieces of a slick, semi-sheer dark gray poly knit; she made herself a wrap from it sometime in the past. She doesn't remember where she got it, only that it was exceedingly cheap.

It was perfect for lining this lightweight jersey.

My serger skipped a stitch about every three or four inches on the whole garment; on the seams, I did a narrow zig-zag stitch to fill in the skips, but there are teeny loops on the rolled edge that I don't think I can really do anything about. I showed the dress to The Bride this morning and we decided that, since someone would have to look embarrassingly closely at the dress to see the loops, we'll leave 'em alone.

Gotta get that machine in for a tune-up one of these days.

(The Bride...AkA The Princess...was happy with the dress, thank goodness...)

Since I 1) lined the garment, 2) eliminated the empire seam and 3) used a rolled edge on the flounces instead of a narrow hem, I paid very little attention to the directions. But a quick glance at them had me shaking my head.

Why - why- why do pattern companies persist in instructing folks to sew knits together with two passes through a straight stitch machine??? A teeny zig-zag is the way to do it if a serger isn't available. So simple. So why isn't that in the guide sheets???

Next up: The Veil.

Bridesmaids Dress, Pt. 1

The Flute Player has been promoted to the position of Bridesmaid, so the orange dress I planned to make her for the 'Sister of the Bride/ Guestbook Attendant' role has been relegated to another time and place. She needs a silver gray dress.

The Bride (aka The Princess) took her shopping, and they came home with a maxi length dress that needed to be shortened to knee length. They were both happy with it, but it just didn't look at all flattering on The Flute Player, to my eye. It was a was pretty much a column of gray jersey, with a blouson waistline and tie and double flounces at the neckline; the bottom flounce reached almost to her waist. The edges were merrowed, not hemmed.

The Bride and I had a 'discussion' about the dress, in which a number of other issues were raised (civilly, I might add), but I offered to make her sister a dress and then we'll see which one looks the best. So, a quick scan through the bookmarked online vendors turned up one Tencel jersey knit in the right color, which was quickly ordered and dispatched to the house.


Yes, observant readers will discern there are two pieces of fabric in that photo; the vendor from whom I purchased the jersey had some stretch lace on sale and I purchased a brown-and-cream version of the stretch lace that I used to make the 70's rocker vest, which I have loved but is, um, getting a little small. A brown/cream will work with fall choir colors, I think.

And everyone knows fabric needs a Traveling Buddy.

And, it just so happened that the pattern I'd picked out, Butterick 5313 was on sale at Hancock's this week, so all I need now is for JoAnn's to have some silver gray perle thread for the rolled edge and I'm set. And I have to make a trip to the shop next door to JA's later today.

We're planning to do the flounce/spaghetti strap bodice w/the a-line single flounced skirt.

I think it will suit her much better... ;-)

Attendants' Dresses

I believe the Princess has now settled on what will be the bridesmaids' dress:
Simplicity 2362, the black halter-neck version.

It will be in a silver gray fabric, yet to be determined.

I've been trying to get her to let me order the fabric online, but she wants to see it live and in person before she commits. But she works for an organization that has been HIGHLY involved in the tornado relief efforts, so her shopping availability has been somewhat curtailed. I'm hoping to get a chance to go to Sir's Fabrics, but, while that can be a gold mine of goodies if you're just looking for bargains to add to the stash, if you're looking for something quite specific,it can be a nice drive up and back and that's it.

One of the online fabric vendors has a yummy-looking silvery gray silk/cotton poplin that may be nice for this dress...but I'm not holding out great hope of convincing her to go with it. I *might* be able to order a swatch, but I fear that by the time the swatch gets here and she makes up her mind there won't be enough left for 5 dresses.

I'm a little bummed; she has two bridesmaids who live out of state, and one of them was just back in town for a little over a week for a visit. I did get her measurements, but if we'd've planned better and had the fabric, I could've measured her on the front end of her trip and had the dress ready for try-on before she headed back to Boston.

Oh, well...

Cringing Just a Little

So the Princess has agreed to 'let' me make the bridesmaid's dresses, since she was afraid that Her Dress wouldn't look right if I made it.

Really, that's ok, because I would hate for the girls to have to fork over bucks for a 'bridesmaid's dress' that ain't worth it.

However.

The dress The Princess has chosen is Simplicity 2692, view D, for the bridesmaid's and the same dress, minus the shoulder tie, for her maid of honor.

The Reviews for the one-shoulder version are less than complimentary, by and large.

I'm looking at it and thinking 'Blousy drapey off the shoulder bodice...hm...I wonder what is supporting the top edge of the bare-shouldered version?'

And most of the reviews stated that it ran big.

So...I think I have an idea. I told the Princess if she would get herself some fabric, I'd make a version of the dress for *her*, just to see how it works up.

If it's as beastly to make work as I expect, we may compromise. ;)

Color Change...

The Princess was working on her 'save the date' announcements last night; playing with the colors and printing samples. She told me that Prince Charming didn't really care for the blue color she'd originally planned to use as the accent color in the ceremony, which she'd used for the first samples of the Save-the-Date, so they'd changed to a soft orange, which would be more fall-like.

I basically smiled and said, 'That's nice, dear, we'll need to talk about your bridesmaids dresses soon.' and forgot about it.

(Backing up: I just realized I never blogged about my decision for the MOB dress; probably because I made up my mind while I was off line. I decided to go w/ the Kay Unger dress, Vogue 1182, and I envisioned it in a silk dupioni, cross woven w/ silver and either royal blue or turquoise, which would blend well with the silver and cerulean blue color scheme she'd picked. I didn't know if I could find such a fabric, but I figured I had a bit of time to try...)

Until this morning, while I was making my weekly pass through my favorite fabric vendors, looking for my 'hope-this-exists' silk dupioni, when it suddenly hit me that they'd dropped blue from the plan and my pick might not work.

So I'm back to square one on my fabric choices.

Sigh. I don't know what she's planning to use besides the orange now; I don't know what my options are.

Ah, well, there's time, there's time...

So much for resolutions

Well maybe I'm only partly non-compliant.

See, I told myself I wouldn't spend any money unless it was on wedding-related items.

So, when I purchased a swatch of fabric, and some on-sale Vogue bridal patterns, if a couple other items found their way into my shopping cart...well, no fabric can travel alone...

The Princess is still fairly adamant that I will not make her dress, but I'm thinking I'm plan B if she can't find what she wants for a price she can afford. So, I'm swatching and picking up patterns on sale...just in case. Anyway, I hit up Fabric.com for a swatch of Duchess Satin fabric. Since a $.75 charge on the credit card was ludicrous, I also ordered a couple of pieces of printed knit (I'm going to try an ITY knit and see how it fares) and a bamboo/cotton solid for some much needed PJ's. That got me free shipping. ;)

Later in the day, I stopped by Hancock's to take advantage of the Butterick/Vogue sale this weekend. $4 isn't too much to invest in a slight possibility; Vogue 2842 has some things in common with a dress that she tried on and loved; notably the front draping. However, the dress in the boutique also had draping in the back and a train, so there would have to be some significant modifications in order to replicate the ~$1K dress....

I also picked up Vogue 8569, which might actually get used, as she agrees with me that $250 is a ludicrous amount of money to spend for a comb and some polyester tulle. Along those lines, I also picked up Vogue 7009. Rosette patterns should be handy for about anything...including future costuming...

But, there's more than one dress at a wedding, and I'm starting to mull over the MOB dress. It's going to be an early afternoon wedding, so not too formal; no long dresses. I have a few patterns in my stash that I'll be pulling out and mulling over, but today I picked up the Kay Unger design, Vogue 1182. That's a striking dress, although I'm not sure how easy my standard 'lower the bust an inch and a half' adjustment will be on that. Might get tricky.

I looked through the Butterick catalog, too, since they were $1.99 each, but didn't see anything really wedding-y. However, Butterick 5559 and Butterick 5523 both came home anyway. Just because.

The wheels, they are a' turnin'...I'm sure there's going to be much more discussion ahead...

It's Official...

He proposed and she said yes; we will have a son-in-law sometime around the middle of September if all goes well with the scheduling.

There will be sewing...even if it's only a MOB/SisterOB kinda thing.

Stay tuned.