Something Stinks: Fabric Prep

As I have mentioned I enrolled in Gertie's online class, and I have chosen my fabric. Much to my husband's happiness, I found in my stash this piece of black and white houndstooth silk suiting with enough yardage of four and half yards. I purchased it about a year ago during a super sale on fabric.com for $4 yard. Even though the class is geared to making a summer dress,  I really wanted to make a slightly heavier dress to straddle the in between seasons. It is lightweight enough to drape, but not too light. And I figured depending on accessory color, I could go either spring or fall/winter with the black and white. Maybe red or plum for winter and pink or coral for spring?

The Wonderful World of iDye

Since I last posted, many things have happened. Well, many and then not so many, really. Let's get on to what did happen, which I will try to put in a timely order:

Wedding Dress Deconstruction: The Original

With permission of the original blushing bride, here is a full view of the dress that I have been talking about, complete with tiara. If you are just joining in, I am helping a very good friend of mine take apart her mother's wedding dress and reconstruct it for her to wear in her May 2012 wedding.

Wedding Dress: Muslin Stages

When I posted last, we had ripped apart the original dress into its various pieces. From there we pillaged even more. We broke down each piece and lace trim was seized from cuffs and the neckline for possible further use. We know for sure that we will not use the original front bodice pieces since they are too short, even with tweaking. Rather than be sorry later, we are still holding on to everything until it is all done...just in case.

Back with Wedding Bells On...

Image from Flikr

I thought that the best way to get back into the swing of sewing after returning from my time in Italy was to help one of my very good friends with her upcoming wedding dress. Have I ever made a wedding dress? No. Have I ever worked with lace? Um...no. Have I ever made a boned bodice? Still no. But, am I hopeful and ready for this challenge? Absolutely, Yes! And is my friend a forgiving, easy-going person? Yes, thank god.

The countdown & pretty dresses.

One month and three days. That is all that is left of my recent Roman life. I have been trying to make the most of it, which is why I haven't posted in awhile. We have also had loads of visitors, which meant eating out, seeing the city sights again, more eating out and (more importantly) the sewing machine stayed tucked away.

Sew Along Updates...

I have been busy. Not so much sewing, but busy none-the-less. My parents came to visit for two weeks and left for the cold Northeast last Saturday. It was great to have them visit, but it left me no time for anything else. We did a lot of traveling; a southern Italy trip: Pompeii, Herculaneum, Positano (on the Amalfi Coast), Ravello and a northern trip: Sienna, Florence, Orvieto. Phew. No wonder I was exhausted when they left! I had a great time and even got to show my mother the fabric store, and of course we didn't come out empty-handed ;)

Sleeves.

When I get to the part of a garment where I have to fit the sleeves in, I always start to sweat. It is nerve wracking for me. Setting in sleeves always gives me major problems. There is always way to much ease, and I always tend to get that gathered look as opposed to a sleek sleeve. Well, I assumed this time for the swing dress was going to be no different, except Casey did a tutorial on how to get rid of sleeve ease on this dress pattern. It was super helpful, but then I made it more difficult for myself. Let me explain.