DD bought a really cute dress for DGD to wear to the Tartan Ball next week. Several layers of froth, white soutache of narrow ribbon on black netting, lettuce edge hem in white thread...like I said really cute. But....
Back closing was an invisible zipper. The horizontal under-bust and below-the-waist seams DID NOT MATCH UP. And the entire opening had been stretched to fit the zipper, so the neckline poked UP at CB, and the bottom "poked" too...
So, I removed the zipper (serged in a few places so it was destroyed), bought a new zipper, ripped the neckline facing out and re-stitched, so it did not do an inverted "V" at CB. Understitched the neckline seam. Basted in the new zipper, but because of the way the dress was constructed I could not do my "leave the entire seam open until AFTER the invisible zipper is sewn in" technique. After making sure the waist and bustline seams matched (kind of), I sewed in the new zipper, and added a hook-and-loop at the top.
Took me about as long as it would have to make a dress from scratch. Well, that's exaggerating, but I was so frustrated with trying to force this piece of ___ to look decent I was ready to tear my hair out. And that's why I will never do alterations for $$$.
Beverly, wishing DD had asked me to *make* a dress