Hello again and wedding dress question

I'm sure they will be glad to have you back. Europe, however, will be the poorer for your loss.

Congratulations! :D

That's a very pretty top, and will complement your skirt wonderfully. However, Butterick are not reliable for size these days: what fits in one pattern may not in another of the same size... See this month's Threads magazine! ;)

I wore my mother's veil: it is plain at the edge, and just a massive single square (it touched the ground all round!) of the finest silk tulle... So light and airy, and you really CAN pinch it in the centre and pull it through a wedding ring!

lap the seams... Actually, I might make the garment in silk tulle, with just 1/4" seam allowances, and mount the lace on that, lapping and matching the motifs. You really need a couple of good books to show the technique:

Vogue & Butterick Designer Sewing Techniques, ISBN 0-801908620-6 $17/£12.99

Couture Sewing Techniques, Claire B Shaeffer. ISBN 1-56158-497-5 (The Taunton Press, 2001), us$21.95/can$34.00

Yes, you cut it off carefully, using the body of the lace for the body of the garment, and then re-apply the border. You do this to accommodate the curved shape of the garment. The books show you how. Stitches get lost in the complexity of the lace! :)

I think

Take a look at how the books do it. It's rather hard to describe in just a few words.

You would do well to do these three stages! :)

For an A line skirt to go with it, try this:

Hi, Charlotte! Best wishes, etc., on the upcoming nuptials, and I totally sympathize about having to leave France!

One more purchase you should make: A book by Susan Khalje, called Bridal Couture.

Charlotte, I can't believe it's been a year already. I don't have an iota of advice about sewing, but I wanted to say Congratulations on your engagement!

Beautiful dress, too.

Angela

Thank you so much! It has been an amazing year, the trip of a lifetime. I think it bodes well for things to come!

Be seeing more of you soon!

-Charlotte

Karen - Thank you, I will check it out! I wish I could share this flaky buttery croissant with you all, and this rich deep coffee. I'll never eat this well again.

Oh, and the fabric here!

Well, back to work. Thanks so much and I'm off to look at that book!

-Charlotte

That's good to know - but try cutting your lining first and using that as the toile: saves work! I did that with the one I made, and it was a bit too short, despite careful measuring, so we abandoned it for the skirt and I'll trim it level and make her a petticoat as an extra layer out of it. With poly lining at £1.25m we can afford that! :)

It probably won't be far off: just measure the pattern pieces, allow for ease, and compare. The toile will let you know where any adjustments need to be made.

Yeah, makes all the difference! :)

I got married the year after that wedding: I used the Burda pattern for Dana's dress, altered to suit my tastes (for NOBODY was I wearing nine miles of crumpled paper bag, and froufrou frillery up to my ears, but the basic shape was right!)

Have a think about it... It's not difficult, it just takes time and care.

It does. But get the books out of the library and have a look at the techniques again.

Very wise! :)

Decisions, decisions... My motto for weddings is KEEP IT SIMPLE! For mine I had two bridesmaids and the men all wore suits: I had peachy/apricotty flowers, as did the bridesmaids, and that was all we fussed about! The church and hotel reception were filled with generous quantities of many coloured flowers, including sweet peas from the garden, and the cake had fresh rosebuds my father grew in a tiny arrangement my mum made on top. We had a 'sit down buffet' lunch for 62 people, and that was it! :) It's lasted 24 years (come the 17th of this month!) and is going strong, so I think we got it right! :)

In your place if I could afford it, I'd get the lace. If you later decide to use your mum's, save the lace for a Christening gown, or a daughter's wedding many years from now... :)

No, but mine was when I made my dress! Kept getting under foot and being stepped on, silly thing! He was so nosy, that cat... Long gone now, my well remembered Marmalade...

The present two like silk scraps to nest on, the customer's velvet, anything I leave on the cutting table, and especially, half-made quilts with pins in!

Mmmm so good! My mom was astonished we go to the bakery twice a day. I don't eat baguette that is more than 2 hours old anymore. Life's too short and bread's too cheap! I know I'll revert when I get home but until then it is fresh bread all the time.

Last night we had a pain au chocolat aux amandes for dessert - so rich and so good! (we split one for the two of us to keep our girlish figures, well at least that's why I do it)

-Charlotte

Hmmm. Wasn't planning to line it. July can be so muggy. I'll have to see how much shows...

That is very much the plan. Backyard wedding, naturalist theme, no attendants, "family style" meal (like Christmas dinner in the summertime with more people). Our anniversary will be close to yours - July 14.

Oh, FDH will give me hell if he knows I'm adding to stash at that price! He's already complaining about the size of the current stash. I could make it happen the big question is, like the bustier, is that the best choice for my resources? Arggghhhh! :)

(BTW, I found a bustier at the sales today - 29 Euro minus 30%, I don't think I could do better in America for price and it even has ivory peacock feathers embroidered on it. I plan to use the real feathers in the boutonnieres so it is perfect and very French!)

-Charlotte

Felicitations Charlotte what wonderful news, you see how romantic Paris can be. How's Clothide? is she still needing adoption?

Claire in Montréal France. http:// snipped-for-privacy@free.fr

Ah yes les soldes started officially in this part of France today but as ever I don't have time to look until after the 19th of July. I am working on markets and getting both boys ready for flying to the Uk on Sun, then I'm off to the Country Music Festival on the 11th. Save some bargains for me

Claire in Montréal France. http:// snipped-for-privacy@free.fr

Hehehehe... Still needs some training, then. ;) Mine doesn't complain about the stash size (except when he has to shift some of it!) but is known to mutter about moving into the shed if I get any more sewing machines. For some strange reason he thinks 13 is sufficient... Odd, that.

Woo hoo! I'd buy it for that! :)

Oh, if we had a shed it would be a different story! DFH's remarkably accomodating of our three sewing machines in a tiny downtown one bedroom apartment (one in a table!). Even gave me some of his closet space for stash! But he has asked that I try to keep it cycling through...

You may recall you yourself called him a keeper the year he made me a custom sewing table for Christmas.

-Charlotte

Oh yes, so wonderful, so romantic. Paris is like no other place.

Clothilde is great, but she needs a tune up. I may get around to it but probably not. It is not too bad, just every now and then things don't line up right and she skips stitches.

As for adoption, that may well be in the cards. I had offered her to my sister in Bristol, England but I don't think she's going to manage to come 'round to collect her and I don't personally want to deal with shipping it. DFH is going to be going to a conference in Pau the last week of August. If I talked him into carrying the thing could you go get Clothilde?

Otherwise I'll just sell her here in Paris.

-Charlotte

A very nice summer lining is rayon Ambiance. Go to:

Sharon

He'll be a lot more accommodating of stash and machines when you have a proper permanent home of your own, with space for such built into the specifications. Some bits of fabric need a quarter of a century or more to mature before they get cut...

Heh, I've got a few pieces "ripening". Like the Donegal tweed I bought on my honeymoon in Ireland nine years ago. It's waiting for my skills to get up to 'tailored jacket' level before I dare cut it. I won't settle for anything less out of that stuff.

-Liz