Sunday, November 19, 2017

THE dress

Last year, about this time, I received a phone call from my niece, Christie, who lives in Southern California near Los Angeles. Her daughter, Jamie, had recently become engaged and she asked if I would be interested in making a wedding dress. From her wedding dress. My answer was, "Of course!!"
  Jamie and I exchanged contact info and she sent photos of dresses with details she really liked and wanted to incorporate into her gown. I made a sketch of something she might like and, yes, she did!! She also sent a list of detailed measurements, so I could get started in the right direction fitwise.
  Several weeks later, a huge box came with Christie's dress. These photos are different views of the dress before I started taking it apart. Notice the VERY long train, high neck and mutton chop sleeves, all very popular
 the 80's. Also notice there's a zipper in the back.
     One of my dress forms is fully adjustable and I was able to replicate (to a certain extent) Jamie's shape. Then I set to task taking apart her mom's dress, which took several days and the use of a scalpel, as it is much sharper than a regular seam ripper. I stored all the pieces and yardages of the lace in separate plastic bags, with approximate measurements. Thank the lord for Ziploc and Glad bags!!!
   After removing bits and pieces from the dress, the original fabric wasn't in the best shape, and I ordered some really nice silk dupioni from Butterfly Silk Fabric Company. To make it crisper, I underlined it with
a satin faced taffeta that I found at Joanne's Fabric store. A Butterick pattern for a semiformal dress worked very well as a base for the design of the new dress. Mainly, I added width to the skirt and a godet from the center back to make a small train that would stand away as the bride walked.
   The next installment of this dressmaker's tale will come very soon, as I have to locate the folder with photos of construction. That will require much effort on my part as my computing skills are not quite as honed as my sewing talents.
zipper!

side view of sleeves

the inside of front

 inside original dress

No comments: