New pictures

You HAVE been busy!

I tend NOT to serge the edges as you did with that bodice lining, as I find that it can lead to the sewn edges showing through on the outside as a ridge either side of the seam. I interline the fashion fabric rather than the lining for the same reason, and hand baste the pieces together as well. Then I can pull out the basting once the garment pieces are seamed. Makes things a little harder to handle, and the work slower, but I like the finish I get. Once it's all lined and finished, ravelling edges are not a problem. We all have out different preferred methods, and I'm a great believer in doing what works best for us!

It's all going to look fantastic when it's done! I like the changed neckline... Hm... Wonder where I've seen pattern alterations like that before! And the pictures are coming along just fine! :)

It's like a course for sewing profs, Beverly, I like your slideshow! Nice work and the dress also. Suzan from Amsterdam

Wow Beverly, What a great job. I love the wedding dress! It must be hard, being emotinally involved as well. Are you also arranging the wedding? I know my mom was a nervous wreck before my wedding. But, we were in Norway, she was in Miami and the wedding was outside of Tallahassee (just 8 hrs away by car). So I made my dress.

Keep the pictures coming. I can't wait to see the dress finished.

Kirsten Sollie

Beautiful work! Gosh, one might think you've sewn a few dresses before this one.... lol <ducking> I really like that bodice. It's going to be gorgeous when it's all done!! And that print fabric will make a great dress for your granddaughter. Very cheerful stuff!!

I'm working this weekend too. Working on the spring formal dress for my niece. You may have heard me cussing at the underlining yesterday.... lol It's a princess seamed halter top for the bodice. I had a you-know-what of a time getting the underlining to lay in right. Some days are just like that. I finally beat it into submission! ;) I'm having to build this one like a tank though. She's quite busty and wants it to Stay Put as well as provide some support. Going to put boning in today. (Keep your fingers crossed!! lol)

Great work on the pictures as well as the dress. Thank you so much for posting them. :)

Sharon

Indeed! :-)

I usually apply the underling to the fashion fabric as well, but in this case my decision was determined by the weight of the lining fabric (very light) and the desire of the MOH to have boning in the bodice to keep things smooth. The rayon will be very nice next to the skin, and the organza underling should make it strong enough to handle the strain of the closer fit. I decided I would rather make the lining stronger, and just a smidge _smaller_ than the fashion fabric, so that I can put the boning in the lining, and take the stress off the fashion fabric. Also, I ran test a seam on the purple Duchesse satin, sewing 14 stitches per inch, and then _pulling_ really hard on the stitches. Nary a slip. :-)

And I agree, too, that it isn't usually necessary to serge bodice seams for a lined bodice, (DD's wedding gown bodice seams will all remain pinked) but I was a little worried about the stress on those lining seams once the boning was in place since the fit will be quite snug.

Ah, yes! I have _preferred methods_, but sometimes particular situations require flexibility.

Yes, Kate, I did see the alterations you made to the pink bridesmaids dress patterns. :-)

I also decided (in consultation with the MOH) to make the hemline follow the same diagonal as the neckline, I think anything off the strict horizontal is more flattering for plus-sized women.

Thanks, Suzan! More later....

Thanks, Kirsten. :-) Yes, I am also helping DD with _all_ the arrangements. In fact, I have to go out today to give final approval for the second printing of the invitations and other stationary, as there were problems with the first batch. Fortunately, we gave ourselves plenty of lead time. I'm also working with her on the dinner menu, photographer, music, etc., etc., etc....

We live just a few miles from each other. The bridegroom lives in Springfield, an hour and a half up the valley, and she goes there every-other weekend. She works swing shift, so we get lots done earlier in the day on weekdays.

You and me, both!

Well, in reality, I _have_ sewn just a few dresses in my time. <VBG>

I do think the MOH dress will be lovely. This is a gal who _doesn't own a dress_ ! She is so pleased with the style, and loves the bustier I bought her. The pink print is really cute, and has periwinkle glitter on some of the flowers. I just couldn't leave it in the store, and it was really cheap.

Luck! I hope to have the MOH here soon for a fitting of the lining before I add the boning. I really like the Ridgelene boning I found, it can be sewn right onto the seams. I considered spiral steel, but none of the gals wanted it.

My pleasure, more later,

It's good to see a properly tested and explained reason: those less experienced might wonder why serging was not always a good idea, or why one was not following the classic method. Pragmatism rules! ;)

It can be a toss up as to what the best method is, at times!

Ha! Don't I know it! It's horrifying how many people just don't see it when you explain...

I'm keeping some spare fingers crossed that it's all plain sailing from here on in! :)

WOW - no wonder you don't have time to read your new book. Amazing work. Love the colours and style. Fabulous result.

Viviane

Well, I'm making up a muslin right now, which is against my better judgment, we'll see when she tries it on. If she insists, of course I'll make it her way, but I take _no_ credit/blame! You all can be the judge when the pics go up. ;-}

Thanks so much! I hope to cut out the flower girl's dress tomorrow. But I still don't have the two-thread converter for the Huskylock so I may end up having to do a narrow rolled hem by hand. <sigh>

You two are so good!! I'm picking up lots of pointers for my dress, which my first big thing. :) You guys totally motivate me to want to do it right vs. quick and easy.

In my estimation, "doing it right" is _always_ the better choice. When you put time and effort into something, you want the result to be "great", not just "ok". Too many novice sewists give up in despair when they take the short-cut methods on the "quick-n-easy" patterns, and the resulting garment is total unwearable.

Keep up the good work! How's yours coming along, still struggling with the bodice? Maybe someone here can give you a tip.

There's also the happy medium to be struck between the unwearable square rag and the couture finished designer special. Simple flattish things help you learn to control the machine and follow the pattern and instructions, get used to fabric and patterns and pins. Chosen well with an eye to flattering the figure to wear them, they can be great teaching tools. Chosen badly, you end up looking like you came third in the sack race. A lot of sewing newbies choose patterns because they are simple, which is ok, but without thinking about whether or not this is the sort of garment they usually wear.

I also find people using cheap fabric and spending days finishing things off as if it cost £500 a metre! The only time I do this is when making costumes for the school: I use them as experimental garments for new techniques, or things I need to brush up the techniques on, like using fabric that cost me 85p a metre for a suit for a lad in Hotel California and giving the seams a Hong Kong finish!

Yes, do: and never think there is something you CAN'T do until you've tried it 3 times!

Good morning,

I viewed the photos for the dress you are making (BEI Design). They are wonderful and very detailed. I've been reading the posts between BEI and Kate with great interest. My niece is getting married in two years and has asked me to make her wedding dress, something I've never done before. Don't mind telling you I'm scared to death! I have a question ... do you always make a muslin dress first and is it just the bodice or do you do the entire gown?

One other problem / question. Another niece is getting married this May

29th. Her mother planned to make the flower girl dress but fell and broke her arm. Now the project is mine to do. The bride selected Butterick 3351, view A, in a size 5. I am making a first draft from Pellon as a test pattern because the notions list calls for a 16" zipper which sounds really long for a 5 year old little girl. My sister in law requested I make a removable net slip for the dress so the skirt will puff out. I know how a child is going to react to a netting slip. It's going to be a nightmare. I suggested I make a slip for the kid from Tricot to protect her legs from the scratchy netting. In the end it all seems like too much fabric for a little girl. In addition to the slips, the dress has an overskirt too. Therein lies the question. Any suggestions for the netting slip / under slip?

Thanks for your help. I really enjoy this newsgroup!

Liz

First, don't be scared to death! Think of a wedding gown as "just a pretty dress made with difficult fabrics". ;-} I don't make a muslin for most items I sew, a pattern tissue fitting will usually serve. But for wedding gowns/attendants' dresses I do, and in this case since I'm essentially designing different styles of dresses for each woman, I have so many changes to make to the basic pattern that a muslin is the best/only way for me to be sure that the fit and line are what I intend.

Very cute dress! Let the size of the pattern pieces be your guide for the zipper. It should extend at least 7" down into the skirt. A "too long" zipper is preferable to a "too short" one. Since I don't want any broken zippers to repair on the "big day", I am making all the zippers a couple of inches longer than the pattern suggests. Two of the attendants dress will have separating zippers in the bodices, and the skirt zippers are 14 to 16 inches long. With a hidden zipper, it really doesn't matter.

You might consider using tulle instead of netting, and sewing it to the outside of something softer. If you look at the picture of the petticoat I'm making for DD the bride, you'll see that the base is periwinkle taffeta, with tulle ruffles in three layers sewn to the outside. I'll upload better pictures. She wanted the colored petticoat (against my better instincts), and then decided after it was assembled that it showed just a little too much blue through the white satin of the gown. So I took it apart at the yoke and cut another skirt of white taffeta and added it over the top of the tulle. Now, it is very smooth, the color is still there, and it looks wonderful. DD has very sensitive skin. I lined the yoke of the petticoat with sheer cotton batiste, so she doesn't have the taffeta against her skin up near the waist.

I do too! ;-)

There really is nothing to be scared of, and you have plenty of time to acquire and perfect any techniques you haven't use before.

For something like a wedding dress I DO make a toile - and possibly two or three! It depends how complex the pattern is... And yes, I do one of the skirt, too! If you look at my web site (URL below), you can see the toile for thew tops of the pink bridesmaid outfits: I did some for the skirts as well, but they are not on the site. They were made out if fabric that was wonderful until you opened your eyes! Felt great, had a pattern as ugly as sin on it! ;D If there are sleeves, make a toile of those too - especially if there are likely to be fitting problems due to chubby biceps, muscular shoulders, or skinny pin arms!

Rather than netting, which has all the friendliness of knitted barbed wire, why not use a poly organza? LOTS of bounce without the scratch! Mount it on a slip made of anti-stat poly lining, and remember that poly organza frays like crazy if you don't finish the edges properly.

A 16" zipper sounds waaaaay too long! Take a look at the instructions: you may find that it asks for a concealed zip, and these come in a more restricted range of sizes. It may be asking you to shorten it. On the little pink bridesmaid dresses I use 12" zippers and shortened the little one. I think I did the same with the burgundy and cream lot, and I KNOW I bought 16" zips for the ivory flowered silk lot, because they were concealed ones and I had to shorten them quite a lot even though one of the girls is quite tall.

Kate, Beverly, Thanks again for your kind words. The upcoming wedding dress itself isn't so much of a worry. She wants a strapless bodice and I have plenty of fabric in my stash for test runs. It's the beading that has me concerned. She saw the dress of her dreams in a shop window about 2 years ago. I sure can't go look up the dress now. The entire bodice and the attached train were beaded. The other night I had a dream that she was pulling on a thread and as I was running towards her in slow motion screaming, "NOooooooo" every bead on the dress started popping off. It's just a nightmare. I'm so detailed oriented it boarders on neurotic. I'll be ready when the time comes.

That's a great idea for the flower girl dress. I have some very light pure white muslin in my stash. I can put the net on that. I also finished the test dress and the opening in the back from the seamline at the neck to the zipper mark is 16 1/4". Still seems like a really long zipper to me. I'll fit the child, then make the adjustments.

Thanks again to both of you.

Liz - I'm a lurker but you made me laugh with this one... it's both a true story and a suggestion for you...

My dress was pretty simple, the most complicated thing being a lace covered satin, and lace edging around the neck. No beads were on it when I bought it. So.... the day before the wedding my mother, sister and I decided it would be prettier if it were beaded.... The thought of sewing on all the beads we envisioned made us fearful at best, so.... we ran off to the local Hancock's, bought beads..... and superglue.... (ok, everyone close your mouths...;)

So, late into the evening, picture three ladies huddled around an ironing board (that was my double for the process) picking up beads out of custard cups, dabbing superglue wherever we thought beads belonged, and sticking them in!! We were laughing so hard my future husband thought for sure we were inhaling the glue first, and beading later!! VBG.

Well - the moral of the story - I still have my dress, it's 12 years old now, and NONE of the beads have fallen off!! Necessity is the mother of invention.... too bad we're so good at inventing our own fears and emergencies...

Best of luck - Maybe a combo deal would quell your fears the most!! sew first, glue last....

JK in Looneyville

"Ward" snipped-for-privacy@721snip.net wrote