Opinion?

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Reply to
<mistyrayne
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That looks very complex. I've been sewing since I was eight years old and consider myself an above average sewist, and I would leave that one for a professional....

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

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Reply to
IMS

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.

--Mae West

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Reply to
mistyrayne

Good luck! Post back here if you run into any problems or have questions. There are indeed a few professionals on this group who are very willing to share knowledge.

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

--------------

Reply to
IMS

It looks about as complex as this one, which I have just completed:

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down to 5724. I am a professional, and it took me over 50 hours of sewing time, including altering the pattern. Do you have the level of skill and the time to devote to the project? I don't want to put you off, but I *do* want you to be realistic!

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Here's another one that's close:

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back is different. But you could get close to it. I am always thefirst to encourage folks to jump in with both feet. ;) You do have almost5 months before the wedding. So figure you have 3 1/2 months to work onthis. You will need the rest of the time to organize everything else. Picka pattern you like. One that's as close as you can get to what you want.Then yes, you will have to do some pattern altering. How you alter willdepend on the pattern pieces. When I need to add a lot, or take out a lot,I look at how the piece is designed to fit the body. Sometimes you can getaway with adding around the outer edges and that's all. But most of thetime, the best way to go is to cut the pattern pieces and add in the middlealso.

Here's what I think you should do. Buy 2 copies of the pattern in as close a size as you can get to your own. Buy a ton of cheap fabric in a similar hand (how the fabric drapes, feels, etc.) to what you want your real dress made up in. Now make start making muslins. Muslins are mock ups of the garment. Think of muslins the way you thought of rough drafts of writing assignments when you were in school. That's basically what they are (and can come in handy as really great Halloween or party costumes later on. lol) Make one muslin (at least the bodice) in the size that's closest to your size. You may be surprised, some of the pattern lines run larger than they seem at first, and that might actually work for you. But what doing that will tell you is WHERE you need to add and how much you need to add. Smart huh? Then proceed from there. Make all your changes to one copy of the pattern. Don't do a thing to that other copy. That way, you will have it to refer back to as you make changes. Experiment with adding to the outer edges and with cutting the pieces up the middle and adding there. What I try to do is spread the added bits out around the whole body. What seems to work best is some added in the middle, some added to each edge. Make sense?

And don't get hung up at all on size numbers. They are just numbers. Pooh-pooh on them. ;) What you want to do is line up the garments measurements with your own. So measure at the bust, waist, hip, etc. on the pattern. The figure out how much you need to make that equal your measurements plus a little bit. You need ease in the garment. Ease is that tiny bit bigger than your body measurement at each point; this allows the garment to move when your body is in it, rather than rip at the seams. Make sense? Now, on this dress, I would guess that you want zero ease at the bust, that way the dress will be the same as your bust measurement and give "the girls" that pushed up look. Know what I mean? But at the waist, I would think you'd want about 1 1/2" - 2" of ease so you can actually inhale and sit down. ;)

Boy I hope that makes sense. Long and short. Yeah, I think you can do it. I'm always amazed at what people can do when they really want to. However, if the first muslin has your hair standing on end, and people are scared by the new vocabulary you start tossing around (or pointing and yelling "potty mouth" lol) then you might be better off to find something else.

In that vein....where are you? There are a lot of folks on here that do custom sewing for hire. (me for one, although my business is on hold since we will be moving 4 states over in a month or so...) You might be able to find someone on here that could do the dress for you and save you the stress. Worth a shot. You can also go to

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find someone close to you. That's an organization for sewingprofessionals. They are all over the US.Good luck and if you do dive right in, ask any questions you have. You willhave more as you go along, trust me. ;) We all love to help. So don't beshy.

Sharon

Reply to
mamahays

Good for you! Any problems, just ask! As for the sizing: no, you don't just add an inch! Grading up to a new size is more complex than that. Before you buy your pattern, pop over to my web site (url below) and print off a copy of my measurement chart and the document on taking measurements. Get a friend to read through it with you and take a good set of measurements. THEN buy the pattern in the closest size and alter from that. There are several books about that show how to do this, and you'll find a couple on my Book List, on the site.

Next thing to do is make sure your machine is serviced and in good working order. Then practice sewing! ALL the techniques you think you will need, from accurate seaming onwards! There's nothing that screams CHEAPSKATE HOME-MADE WEDDING DRESS quite so loud as wonky seams!

And keep comming back to us to keep us posted on progress as well as for help! You won't be the first we've guided through this kind of project! :) One very good thing to do is set up a little web site with Webshots or something similar, and get hold of a digital camera: when you get stuck or you don't understand something, take a picture and ask us about it! A picture can be very helpful!

Reply to
Kate Dicey

"mamahays" wrote in news:RLooe.19584$xm3.18429@attbi_s21:

Maybe so, but isn't 3-4 months an awfully short time frame?

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - remove TRASH

Depends on how quick you work. I know it wouldn't, under normal, non-moving, circumstances, be a push for me to finish one that quick. Even when I was working in an office full time, I could still have managed it. But that's me. ;)

Sharon

Reply to
mamahays

Ok.. this is really a reply to everyone who's replied to me. Points to consider:

*My machine is brand new and a good one. *When I used to sew years ago, I didn't think of "oh this is a hard one" or anything like that.. I had NEVER sewn (sp?) before and jumped straight into it. Apparently I must have a knack for it cause everything I made came out beautiful the first time ~shrug~ *I have already planned on making a mock up of this dress first before the 'real' thing to make sure I know what I'm doing. *The more I think about this the more fun this seems it will be.. I have a "gift" I guess you'd say of being able to take the dress apart in my head and piece it together. For instance, I was trying to explain this to my daughter and my finance about how the skirt part is in pieces etc they didn't seem to understand. I think the hardest part of this will be the top.. I'm debating on going with a corset type top (with the lacing in the front, which will allow room for the 'girls') and a taffeta underskirt/top, with a black floral borcade for the outer skirt and parts of the top.. or more of a bodice without lacing.. I think the lacing would be a nice touch (kinda like the dress in the picture.) *The more I think of making my own dress the more creative I'm becoming.. I've got tons of ideas now. Anyway, don't shoot me down yet just because I don't have tons of experience... I think this will be a fun project for me and my daughter to share (she has never made anything except a pillow by hand). Oh yes, and when I used to sew before.. I always made things really fast.. like one time I made a very nice three part dress for my daughter and did it in two days.. and it turned out wonderful... Of course I know this will obviously take longer.. but I expect a month or so if I work on it daily.. then I won't be stressed by the time frame.

"Melinda Meahan - remove TRASH to reply" > > In that vein....where are you? There are a lot of folks on here that

Reply to
mistyrayne

"mistyrayne" wrote in news:%usoe.1347$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr17.news.prodigy.com:

Well, just don't let it turn into a big headache -- also, figure out a Plan B and a drop-dead date that if your Plan A is not completed, you will switch. If you don't understand why this is a good idea, read this:

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Reply to
Melinda Meahan - remove TRASH

"mamahays" wrote in news:fmqoe.20666$xm3.10935@attbi_s21:

Hmmm. I am positive I have heard lots of the ladies here say that 3 months advance notice is too little. Well, maybe not, then.

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - remove TRASH

Good for you! I'm only a lightly skilled sewer, so I won't be much help, but I'll be cheering for ya!

A (Famous last words - "How hard can it be?!?)

>
Reply to
Angrie.Woman

Good for you. I jumped into it too and usually I am quite proud of my work.......except the 20 minute dolly dress that I made tonight.......don't ask......but DDs will love it!

You have plenty of time, go for it! If you need help just ask here!

Good Luck!

Michelle Giordano

Reply to
Doug&Michelle

Heh heh. Not if yer motivated!

I bought my CW tablecloth fabric on clearance one year right after Christmas. Got the idea to sew it up the first Monday in December the following year. Was wearing it that Saturday night; yep, 5 days later. That was the year I was working at an office job three days a week. (CW ballgown, plain skirt with none of the hoo-hahs of Kate's new favorite. But still...

The other good thing about making a muslin is you can figure out if the train is really what you want.

OP, you might look around to find a local pro who can provide you some guidance, for a fee. Check Kate's bias bridesmaid disaster repair pages for the rationale behind this!

HTH

--Karen M.

Reply to
Karen M.

Good - but still make sure it's up to the job! A little light weight one might be dragged off the table by lots of heavy skirt! Ask me how I know... There will be miles of fabric in this, and if it slides off the table, something like the nice little Singer Featherweight II I bought for my mum recently just won't be man enough for the job. Something like my Husqvarna Lily will just sit there dangling the stuff from its teeth! I had 14 yards of skirt dangling like this the other day...

I'm a bit like that - I started with zips before I was eight!

Excellent! :) Make the mock-up (a toile) in a fabric with the same handling characteristics as the real stuff. If you want to make it in taffeta, use a cheap glazed cotton for the toile, so it folds the same way and is as stiff. And if the bodice is bones, bone the toile! Boning makes a big difference to fit! Another must is to buy the shoes and undies BEFORE you start on the dress, as you will stand differently in them than in your every-day sports bra and sneakers (for example!).

You will need someone experienced in sewing to help with the fittings. There's no way you can do that yourself, and there is only so much that you can do with a dressmaker's dummy.

I do that all the time: I put things together several times in my head before I do it for real. Someone once said this was called 'internal modelling', and is quite common amongst visual thinkers. See, some teacher training *is* useful! ;P

Good! Just don't get bogged down in the ideas. Start some drawings so you can keep the best ideas.

No-one will do that. The worst we are likely to say is 'We thought you might have trouble with that. Here are some ideas for fixing it'.

Get her involved with her own outfit as well.

Well, as the mad woman who did that Simplicity ball gown in 12 days, and did 16 bridesmaids, a bride and her veil in six weeks last summer, I can sympathise with that! :D I clocked most of the hours on the ball gown just to see how long it took. DO allow time for fixing problems that develop!

Well, start now and give yourself two months plus 'correction' time, just to be sure.

Reply to
Kate Dicey

Obviously the homemade dresses were unwearable, but imagine planning to throw out - at the 11th hour - any attendants who couldn't be fitted up with off-the-rack dresses. As if the primary purpose of the wedding party is to produce a set perfectly costumed photographs. If the MOG deserved to be tarred and feathered, the MOB warranted at least a brazilian bikini waxing.

It apparently all worked out fine, but I'd have bought out the store's entire stock of black cocktail dresses or even pant suits and called it good... It would never even cross my mind to consider getting rid of any non-matching attendants. What a jaw-dropping concept.

Kathleen

Reply to
Kathleen

And if someone does, just plonk them and move along.

A
Reply to
Angrie.Woman

Kathleen wrote in news:OtEoe.6932$K66.4109 @fe02.lga:

Well, in all honesty, they probably did the best they could under the circumstances. I can't imagine the shock I'd be in if that happened to me.

But I like your idea of picking a plain dress -- except that I wouldn't personally pick anything black, because I don't think black is a good thing for a wedding.

Reply to
Melinda Meahan - remove TRASH

aww come on.. black is great for a wedding :) We're actually having a handfasting and going with colors for elements... to do so, we need a 'nutrual' color such as black that will go with the other colors.. plus, we're sorta in the 'goth' crowd so it fits our personality :) yes, I'm odd, I know.. but I like me :)

Reply to
mistyrayne

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