Thursday, September 30, 2010

A Homecoming Hit

A couple of years back, my daughter was asked to a Homecoming dance
After the squeals of delight calmed down, we started looking for a dress.   
We are religious people who believe in
modesty of dress
and so the run-of-the-mill dresses found on the racks were just not cutting it. 
They either had
a) no sleeves, 
b) no straps,
c) no back
d) often too short to
leave much to the imagination or
e) all of the above. 
None would do.  
We happened to run across a store in our area that was closing down and happen, 
by pure miracle,
to find a dress not only with sleeves,
but was in the color she liked best,
fushia
Okay,
really her favorite color is purple
but this was the closest without being a total pink,
in her mind anyway
I don't have a pix of the before, none turned out,
but It was floor length with a wide lace band at the waist,
neither which she cared for in the least, and
a pretty black and sparkle design around the bottom like that on the top.   
The price was right, too. 
Something like 85% off. 
Can't beat that with a stick!    
So I did my best dressing room song and dance about how I could make it over into
whatever
she wanted
and she bought it. 
The song and dance routine, that is. 
I bought the dress
with no return/refund
and so I was now committed
and hoped and prayed that I could
deliver
the
dress
of
her
dreams. 
 I first had to separate the top of the dress from the skirt
AND
take out the zipper. 
Done. 
I now had 2 pieces. 
After some careful measuring of length
I trimmed off that length (measuring from the bottom hem)
plus seam allowance
the sheer netting, 
underlining,
netting
and still yet another layer of lining from the bottom of the dress. 
I did that all separately, of course. 
I layered them all together from the waistline seam, stitched it all together
and came up with a shorter version of the skirt
I took advantage of the hem that was already in place,
the design feature of the skirt
and the fullness of the bottom of the original skirt this way. 
Yes, siree.   
I was on my way


I did have to take in some of the seams a bit so that the skirt seams would line up nice and even with the bodice seams. 
Then, one quick waistline seam
and I replaced the back zipper with an
invisible one
and I now had a short version of the full-length formal. 
 I made a black sash that tied in the back and... 

 She looked
AMAZING!! 


Don't you agree? 

Sew Happy,
Suzie

9 comments:

  1. Suzie! I totally agree! Fabulous job! I wish I could do that!

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  2. Wow! You did an amazing job! Looks great :)

    Stopping by from Night Owl Crafts

    ReplyDelete
  3. Very Sweet!Thanks for the inspiration!
    You should come link this up to my Making It With Allie Party!
    AllieMakes.Blogspot.com

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  4. She looks so cute! You did a great job...my husband works with high school kids and we wish ALL parents took the time with their daughters like you did...she is a lucky girl!

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  5. She does look beautiful and I love that she looks beautiful and modest at the same time!! My girls are young and I am constantly trying to teach them that it is possible to be both! Great job!!

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  6. I'm like busy mama and trying to teach my daughter to be more modest without squelching her personality.

    Is the skirt two layers? Was the black lace a seperate layer? I was trying to follow along and got lost. lol

    The dress is gorgeous!! I want it in my size. Ok I guess I'm too old at 48. lol


    Katharine @ Kat's AlmostPurrfect World
    http://katspurrfectboutique.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sorry for any confusion about the skirt. LOL! The skirt actually had 4 layers, the black lace which was sheer, an underling for that lace for modesty, the net ruffle for fulllness and a layer under that so it wouldn't scratch the skin. There was a lot going on with that skirt. Each were cut individually to the length I needed plush the seam allowance at the top. I stitched all layers together at the waist seam before sewing it to the bodice to just make handling all those layers easier.
    Yes, it is possible to do something to creat modesty and style. Give it a try sometime.

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  8. Stunning! Both the dress and your daughter.

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  9. Your daughter is lovely and clearly looks so happy in her adorable dress. And why wouldn't she? It's absolutely gorgeous! Congrats, mom!

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