What I've Been Up To

Gosh! 

Where does the time go? 

And it's April on top of that. 

What happened to March? 

That's how busy I've been.

I have totally lost all concept of time, it seems.

Well, the wedding plans are rolling along.

I've finished all but one tablecloth.

The invites are printed and need to be assembled. 

However, the engagment pictures may not happen this weekend

due to a prediction of 70% chance of rain.

That may put the invites seriously behind schedule.

We are cutting it close as it is already. 

But, hey, things can't all go too smoothly, right? 

I'm sure it will all be fine in the end. 

At least, that's what I'll keep telling myself. 

LOL!

The Day After - The Recovery Begins

I am calling this day

the day of

Recovery.

I'm exhausted and

there is so much

stuff to put away.

I'm way behind on laundry,

dishes, shopping, errands

and taking

care

of

ME!!

It's wonderful to have

 the wedding is over.

All the pictures have been taken.

The cake eaten.

The car decorated.

And they are off on their honeymoon.

It was worth it.

Every minute.

I'd do it all over again for them in a heart beat.

(except for dealing with the bakery and what has been tagged "the bread bowl incident")

It's a wonderfully satifying feeling

to see one of your own

be so

happy.

I think

he walked

on air

all day long.

 I don't think I've every seen him happier.

Don't they make a great couple?

~~~~~

The dress turned out okay, don't ya think?

It was a tad too short when it was bustled.

I had let it down quite a bit, but it still was too short.

That was disappointing to me.

However, she could have worn a potato sack and still been radiant.

(I was sneaking around the professional photographer when I snapped this pic. 

That's why they aren't looking at me)

~~~~~

Here are a few pix of the dress skirt, all bustled.

They aren't the best but we were in the shade and I didn't

dare let my flash go off while

the photographer

worked.

 ~~~~~

Sew Happy,

Wedding Gown Update -- All Finished!!

Whew!

That was one

HUGE

job!

I totally left my comfort zone

and stretched myself

to the limit

with this dress

learning

two

new techniques

that I had never done before.

1) The corset back.

2) The pickup skirt.

~~~~

The corset back really turned out nice

and to tell you the truth

was not as hard as I

imagined it to be.

Certainly more time consuming than a zipper,

yet not much more difficult

and an amazing result.

Would I do it again? 

In a heart beat. 

I have a tutorial

(That I will post once life has settled down a bit)

One thing I would do differently with this

corset back, or rather two things. 

First, I would have cut it back

quite a bit more

leaving more of

the lacing

and less dress. 

Once the dress was on

and all laced up,

There was only 2-3 inches

of the lacing after

cinching her in nice and snug

rather than the beautiful

wide lacing

displayed above. 

Secondly, 

I would not have used ribbon

as the lacing and instead

invested the time into

creating a lacing 

out of self-fabric

with more body

(which I did try but it's not a good memory and we'll leave it at that) 

When the ribbon is laced

and cinched tightly

for that snug fit,

it crumples and looks more like a thick

string rather than the beautiful

double-faced

satin lacing as pictured. 

Even though the dress is

beautiful

it has lost some of its

decorative charm and interest because of those two things. 

Sigh. 

Live and learn, right? 

~~~~

Second was the skirt pickups.

So widely popular

and appearing to be an easy thing,

they turned out to be really quite

a challenge,

at least from my perspective.

Depending on the look your after,

there are some decisions to be made prior to construction,

ideally in the drafting stage,

both of these being the total length of the dress

and placment of the drapes. 

Of course, not realizing this and not making them in advance,

I was faced with struggling with the drape placement as well as getting the fullness we desired, especially in the back. 

I knew that I needed to add additional fabric

to the length of the skirt,

and I thought I had with the addition of

15 extra inches

to the over all length of the gown 

(basically guessing and not really thinking through the process)

but that was just not enough.

I now know that I needed at least 20 to 25 inches, perhaps more,

(which would have radically changed the amount of fabric needing to be purchased)

for the look I was after --

a very draped and full back with plenty of

length for a moderate train.

To maintain any sort of train beyond a sweep train,

I sacrificed much of the fullness and drape in the back as a result,

something that was disappointing to myself as the creator and

something that made its presence, though beautiful, fall somewhat flat.

The front drapes, however, were very nice and

we were both pleased

with the result.

This is the front bustled at the sides.

(I personally prefer the dress bustled because of the extra fullness)

  Sadly, I realize I did not get any photos of the back of the dress finished

to displacy the full train.

Here is the only shot of the back fully bustled and not hanging, propped up agains the ironing board, just for an idea of what I'm talking about.  

(not the best picture, sorry) 

The sleeves didn't work out like I had hoped either. 

I really struggled to get them on

and get them to hang right

(try 5 hours' worth of time)

only to have the bride try on the dress

and not really like how the petal sleeves turned out;

they just weren't right.

I then cut them down and creating

a cap sleeve instead. 

Now reading back over this post,

I realize I've sound a bit negative, if not hard on myself. 

I'm really not trying to be. 

I just want you all to realize that

this was a huge learning experience for me. 

It's important for me to share what I've learned. 

So if anyone out there every tries to

make a wedding gown with those features,

at least they will have a reference point of what not to do. 

The things I do love about the dress are:

the fabric that draped so beautifully

(a soft, matte satin that almost glows)

the lace

(beautiful, delicate with a touch of pink)

((I rocked the application!  Love working with lace)) 

the beading

(because I didn't have to do it and it's really beautiful)

Most of all,

I really love how

beautiful

Bobbie

is when

she wears it. 

I have always said that

the dress

is only the frame

to the picture, not the picture itself. 

Sew Happy,

Wedding Gown Update -- Corset Back

I do hope everyone is having a wonderful week.

Mine has been busy as always.

I just wanted to post an update

on the dress.

I am down to days

to needing this done.

I made great progress yesterday

finally completing

the

corset

back.

I'm pretty happy with the results.

I did finish the modesty panel

that goes behind the lacing

which this pictures doesn't show.

I have yet to get more pictures of the back in its completed stage.

At any rate,

it's coming along nicely.

I have a complete tutorial

coming up on this corset back

that I will post later on

so stay tuned.

Sew Happy,

Wedding Gown Update

I was overly optimistic

about

the time it took to hand apply

lace.

Well, it has been awhile since I've done this.

My memory isn't as good as it used to be obviously.

15 hours

of

hand work

AND

it's still not entirely done.

I have more to apply around the neckline

and shoulders and down the back a bit.

Sigh.

It has taken so much time,

that I'm now down to just days

before this must be

photographer ready.

So why am I spending my time on my blog?

To share my progress.

What do you all think?

I will let you

in on some of my

tutorials

AFTER

the dress is done

and
the

wedding

is

over.

Ejoy!

Sew Happy,

The Wedding Dress Sleeves -- How To Make Petal Sleeve Pattern

I'm doing pretty well

on this wedding dress.

I'm right on schedule

of where I want to be.

There is just over 2 weeks left

until the wedding,

and I feel that I can

actually get this done afterall!

I'm came to a stand still

waiting for a fitting

and then placement of the lace,

so I decided to jump ahead a bit

and go ahead and get the

sleeve pattern drawn

and the sleeves ready for

the lace that will go on them.

The bride

wants petal sleeves.

This is one style

of petal sleeves to give you an idea

of what we are talking about here.

The only difference between the

sleeve that I am actually making

is that the petal "lap"

will be towards the back

of the sleeve

instead of the front of the sleeve

as shown here.

The Wedding Dress -- Sewing Day #5

Actually, I think it's more
like sewing day 8 or 9.
Basically, I've lost count.

Wish I could say I've lost weight
over this dress
but, no, sad to say
(gotta keep that chocolate rush going).
However, the lining is all finished.

The fit is near perfect.

The casing for the boning are in place.

All seams are pressed and finished.

Just need to place the bra cups

because I forgot to at our last fitting.

Here's where I'm at now.

It is so

exciting

to

see

this

beautiful gown

start to

take

shape.

The picture just doesn't do it justice.

I only have the front half of the dress here pinned to a hanger.

The top of the front is covered with

the more plain part of her lace yardage.

That will serve as a "base" or filler

for when I start to applique

the lace into place.

The idea here is give the lace

back its orginal

beauty and character

after I cut the

lace apart and

piece it all back together to

take shape on the bodice.

When I get to that part,

I'll share more on that.

But for now,

I have the front of the dress ready for its next stage.

Now, I need to cut out the 2 back pieces.

They are very long because of the uptakes in the train

and very wide, so this takes place...

don't laugh..

on my king size bed.

My kitchen table isn't big enough.

Most days my dog won't even walk on my floors.

So, the bed is

the only place

wide enough

and long enough to cut out these pieces.

Once these are cut out,

I will also apply the lace netting and

then do the

darts in the back

followed by the shoulder seams

and then the side seams.

Press, finish seams and then

onward to the lace applique

I'll snap some more pictures when I'm at this point,

maybe with the bride wearing it. :)

Sew Happy,

I am sharing my wedding dress adventures

on a few of the linky parties

listed on my linky party page.

Check them out.

The Wedding Dress -- Sewing Day #1

I actually started the dress today.

Sewing it together, I mean.

Well, the lining at any rate.
I should be getting this started
after all
the wedding is
only
1 month from today!!!

The lining is 100% polyester,

very soft and drapy.

A perfect lining fabric.

Light as a feather.

Great to wear.

Not so great to sew with.

It slips, snags, shifts, puckers easily.

Generally a pain in the you-know-what.

But all is not lost.

It can be handled beautifully with soft, smooth seams

that hang just right.

Here are a few tips to help anyone working with this type of fabric.

As with any large project, save yourself some major irritation

and wind several bobbins of the fashion color, in this case white.

It

NEVER

happens at the end

of the

seam.

Never.

If your machine has a walking foot attachment,

use it.

"Load the elephant"

as my former clothing & textile professor

used to say.

The idea with a walking foot is to feed

both layers of fabric

through the stitching process

at the same time

minimizing puckering.

In lightweight fabrics,

puckering is a major problem.

When you have puckering,

the seams aren't flat

and they will hang funny.

Make sure your needle is of the right

size and weight

for the fabric.

I started with a size 10

but I immediately saw that it was

snaging the fabric.

So, I switched to a size 9 and

had a much better result.

Tissue paper.

If you don't know the

wonders of

tissue paper,

then you, my dears, have

truly been missing out.

With this lightweight, soft fabric,

I found the combo of a walking foot

and using tissue paper as a third layer

while stitching

helps to produce

perfect stitches with not a pucker in sight.

This is a sample stitch I did with the tissue paper underneath.

Even along the selvage, I got a very smooth seam.

This will go a long way in the overall look of the dress.

Just cut or tear several 2" strips of tissue paper.

While pinning the seams together, just include

the tissue paper

and sew right through all the layers.

Tear the paper away afterwards.

Try it.

Keep things clean!

I am especially mindful of this with a white fabric and

with this dress being such an important project.

1)  Clean your machine well but be careful with oiling.  Sew with scrap fabric until you are absolutely sure that no residual oil is dripping anywhere.

2)  Keep you hands clean.  Wash, wash, wash.  Stay away from lotions and creams, too.  They can leave oils on the fabrics.

3) Wipe down the table, machine, chair, etc., before each sewing session.

4)  Food, drinks and ink pens have NO place around fabrics.

5)  Have a lint roller handly.  It's so nice to take care of the stray threads, lint, dog hair, etc.  Just a quick swipe and their gone.

After a long day of sewing,

I now have a lining

ready for pin fitting,

seam finishing and pressing.

Coming soon:

Seam finishing

Pressing

Boning application

Bra cup application

Sew Happy,

I'm sharing my wedding dress experience
with some of the linky parties
found on my linky page.

Taking That First Cut -- The Wedding Dress Saga

You know how it feels.

Taking that first
cut

into

beautiful,

to-die-for,

expensive fabric

meant for a

beautiful,

to-die-for,

once-in-a-lifetime

dress.

One slip,

one miscut

can

bring a

grown

woman

to tears.

Lots of tears.

And then there would

be the bride

to

deal

with.

and then her

mother.

But I did it today.

or at least,

I cut out the lining.

I always work with the lining first,

adding the boning

and

doing the fine tuning

of the fit before I

tackle the

expensive

satin and lace.

But it's still enough to drive

a girl to chocolate.

Sew Happy,

I'm sharing my wedding dress experience with some of

the linky parties listed on my

Linky Page.

Fabric Friday -- Satin

It seems odd

for it to be the Christmas season and

about the only thing on my

mind right now is

a wedding dress.

I have to keep reminding myself

that I still have a major

holiday event to

plan and prepare for

but this dress is

what is taking

up most of my brain processes these days.

But can you blame me?  

I am so EXCITED

to do this dress!  

It's the sewing challenge

I have been craving

and waiting for

for a long time.

So, 

amid all the 

long lines,

decorating, 

baking, 

wrapping, 

plotting

and

planning of the season,

I'm studying up

on all the finer points

of gown design and construction.

I thought I would share with you

a bit of knowledge about satin and some of the
beautiful dresses
available

 today

for Fabric Friday this week.  

Great Things About Satin 

*Satin can be made from silk, rayon, acetate, polyester or even cotton. 

*It is the staple for the wedding gown industry. 

*It is considered one of the most luxurious fabrics in the world,

especially if made with silk.

*Satin is used in apparel, draperies, lingerie, linings, upholstery

and even shoes.

*Satin derives its shine or luster from the way it is woven.  

*Light reflects off of the warp yarns (lengthwise yarns)

that float over the weft yarns (horizontal yarns).

*It's soft. 

*It has a special luster. 

*It's elegant. 

*It's perfect for a princess! 

Types of Satin 

*Crepeback Satin - Highly twisted yarns are used as the weft or filling yarns while low-twisted yarns are used in the warp.  This produces a very soft, drapy, clingy version with a high amount of shine depending on fiber content. 

The back of the fabric will remind you of the texture of crepe paper.

This is commonly used in evening wear and lingerie.

*Antique Satin -  Uses slub yarn (thick & thin, a natural spun look) in the weft giving the fabric a look of fabric that is hand produced. 

Most common in wedding gowns, costumes or interior fabrics. 

*Duchesse Satin - High yarn count of a finer yarn both in warp and weft.  Crisp, heavier body than most silks.  Luster dependent on fiber content but usually a lower luster. 

Most common bridal satin available on the market today.

*Slipper Satin -  Heavy, stiff satin used in the shoe industry.  Typically, this is not available in your local fabric store.  

Sewing with Satin 

Laying out Pattern & Cutting 

1.  Scissors and pins should be very sharp.  Dull equipment will snag satin.  Once it's snagged, there's no fixing the problem. 

2.  All satin has a nap, or a directional shade difference, caused by the weave.  All pattern pieces need to be layed out and cut according to the nap instruction of the pattern.  Don't ignore this.  

3.  Pin fabric to an old sheet or sheets of tissue paper to keep it from shifting during the cutting process.  No shifting means accurate cutting and accurate seaming.  

4.  Speaking of pins, make sure they are nice and sharp AND pin only in the seam allowances of the pattern.  Pins break the "floating" fibers and once broken and cause pin marks that just do not go away.  Try "silk" pins. 

That being said, pins are so important in helping control satin as it has a mind of its own.  Use pins to keep control,

just be mindful where you put them.

5.  Avoid "ripping" out seams.  Make all the proper fit adjustments prior to sewing and sew carefully.  Too much ripping out leaves unsightly marks. Again, these just can't be fixed.   

Stitching

1.  Use a new sewing machine needle.  With a large project like a wedding dress, I try and have half a dozen or more of the size I'm using on hand and change every so often, especially if I've hit a pin or sewn for many hours with the same needle.  

2.  Make sure the needle size and thread size are compatible with the fabric.  I tend to use a finer needle, 7 or a 9, with a lingerie thread

for most of my gown sewing. 

3.  For finer satins, use a base of tissue paper under your two layers of fabric that you are sewing to keep it from drawing down into the bobbin area and cazing a nasty jam.  Been there, done that.  Sigh.  This also can help to keep the layers from slipping around on the machine bed. 

4.  Try a walking foot, if you have one, when sewing.  This will keep the layers together and not slipping against one another.  A real lifesaver. 

Pressing

1.  Keep in mind the fiber content on this one.  Polester will take a bit more heat than silk.  Always test iron temperatures on scrap pieces prior to pressing.  Start low and increase temp as needed.  

2.  Use a PRESSING motion (up and down) not a side-to-side ironing motion.  You can easily over press satin as well as iron in creases or even flatten the weave and dull the shine.  Go easy.  Press just enough to acheive flat seams, crisp point, etc., but don't over do.  

3.  Never use steam.  Water stains satin.  Fabric ruined.  Enough said.  

4.  Use a pressing cloth.  Even tissue paper can be used in a pinch on low heat.  

5.  Prior to pressing, make sure iron is free of dirt, grim, scum and is smooth.  Same with the ironing board.  A new ironing board cover is a good investment at the start of a big project. 

Sew Happy!