Almost done!

Yay! Go Ursula! See, I knew you could do it! I do wish I'd had time to sort out a proper sample for you, but events kinda overtook me this end. Dress in post this AM as I have to go into town anyway, and it's all packed up.

Well done Ursula! Nice to hear that it's almost finished.

Good for you Ursula. The dress is going to be a joy to wear and you'll be a joy to see. Having done so much work on it has to be a very satisfying feeling. Try to relax and enjoy the festivities. Juno

Thank you, so the little cute frock'll be here then tomorrow? I bet she'll be the star of the evening. I've got a little cardigan for her, a rather intensive colour of perhaps berry or so, which she can wear over the dress so that she won't catch another cold.

As for the jacket sleeves - the RD Complete Guide to Sewing proved a treasure in this case. You told me what to do and RD told me how to. I'm sort or addicted to herringbone stitch now, I've herringboned the edges of the bag fabric over the timtex. It's really fun. I remembered to take pics, and perhaps I'll put them on Dress Diaries. After all the bag is my own project, without any help. Let's see how it works out in the end, though. Perhaps it'll end up so ugly that I'd rather hide it than show off with it. ;-)

But guess what happend at the ir> FarmI wrote:

Thank you for your encouragement. Unfortunately, the longer I look at the dress, the more fault I find in it. Little details I wish I had been able to execute with more care and a steadier hand (and that comes only with practice, practice and loads of practice). Still, I'm determined not to let the joy of the day be spoilt by my own nitpicking. We, the lady minister and I, have worked out together a nice service, with good texts and songs, so that the motto - gratitude - comes out nicely without straining the attendants' patience too much. Even I, although I have some problems with the church-propagated picture of God, can go with that. And I won't hsve to pledge obedience at the altar, which is very good, because I'd hate to commit prejury in this case.

As for relaxation - a few items that are still on my agenda are: clean the house, get the piggy bank for the cards ready, hairdresser tomorrow (including face epilation, ouch!), give DH a haircut and trim his beard, pick up the wedding attires on Thirsday... At least I got my hat (or whatever you want to call that whimsical creation of feathers and fabric on a hairband) yesterday. Need to take that to the hairdresser's. But I have to admit that sewing on that little bag relaxes me a lot, especially since I'm almost done. So there...

U. - feeling so much better now she knows that she'll 'have something to wear' on Friday.

TWO packages on the way. Going as 'Airsure Small Pkt'. Notguaranteed next day, but as fast as they can. I have the tracking numbers so I'll send them to you and we can keep our eyes peeled at both ends. I think they are out of the UK by now, as they show up as 'unable to confirm the status of your parcel', and I won't get more until they are signed for.

I'm sure THAT won't happen! :)

Hm... We may have been a tad heavy handed with the thread, but with the proper technique pressed over a sleeve roll from the inside, or done in a steam cabinet, this should not be a problem. The fabric is quite hefty, after all, and it was only 120's poly. For the hem, only the actual fold needs to be pressed, and the overlocking, which is only there to stop the edges fraying while you work on the hem, can be trimmed off if the hem is more than an inch deep. It's not as if you need to let it down for growth! ;) I tend to turn up and press, baste in place, and then cut off the excess a yard or so at a time as I hand hem with fairly small stitches (about 1cm long). That way it doesn't have time to fray before you sew over the edge, which stops it. Stitched with that thin silk thread, it should be fine and almost invisible.

Good. Though I'd be interested to see what you think are faults. :)

Giggle... We used the straight and unadulterated 1625 Book of Common Prayer service with just that bit disceetly left out, because the wording is so beautiful.

:)

My gown was all finished, and Mum helped me pin the closure placement on the skirt of my 'going away' outfit (a wrap-round affair in sugared almond pink!). The following afternoon, when I changed to go out to dinner with Alan, it was THREE WHOLE INCHES too big!

They arrived here this morning, but since I was about to leave for beautification etc. I didn't unpack them until now. The tiny dress is really cute, and so are the chocolate buttons (both versions). Of course I'll have to give the dress a quick pressing, but that was to be expected after shipping. Not half as bad as the stuff you get from mail order shops freshly out of the container from China.

Well, I've been struggling with that blasted little object all evening and I'm not so sure. We'll see...

The German version of the sleeve roll, I found out, is something called ironing anvil.

There went the keyboard! ;-) No, not the hemline...

I tend to turn up and press, baste

She has a different technique which she claims to be professional. Well, I'm dead sure it's not a professional dressmaker's, though. I'll take pics...

Well, it seems that the lining tends to creep out around the neckline. Might be we'd better had inserted some inlay there, too. And I'm sure I must have made a mistake with sewing it.

Yes, beautiful wording indeed. Thanks to the net these things are just a couple of clicks away to research.

Oh, yu should see me after the visit at the hairdresser's: Almost female human again... ;-) And the Whim looks a treat on the new haircut.

Well, I'm dead sure that won't happen to me. Anyway, I'll be so busy tomorrow, so I might not get round to write again before the important day... See extra post with Re: Before the important day...

U.

Slide up inside between the lining and the outer fabric and baste the lining seam allowance to the outer seam allowance. Use quite a loose stitch - you don't want to make dimples. This is probably happening because the outer fabric is heavier than the lining.

Everything will be lovely, and I wish I could be there... I'm still chasing that non-paying customer who is part of the reason I need to work this hard right now!