Wednesday, March 2, 2011

More sewing and a little walking

There were errands to run this morning and since the weather has turned all spring-like, I went for a walk upon my return. A little lunch, then I hit the sewing machine for more progress on the graduation dress currently under construction. I'm adding the tucked bits into the "loops" design on the skirt. The actual construction had me puzzled for days, but it finally came to me how to get those ovals inside the lace loops without having to do a lot of basting (bleh) or having two layers of fabric in there, which would not contribute to a light airy look and be harder to trim away.
The floral elements from the hankie were added to the tucked ovals first then the fabric trimmed from behind the motif.
Lace was stitched into place on the outer edge with a straight stitch, but I may sew the rest with a zig zag. That way I won't need to turn the edges back, since there isn't a lot of strain on these seams like there is on the upper part of the skirt. The horizontal edges will have to be double stitched though since the bottom of the skirt will be attached there. Sounds complicated but all will be revealed.
lace has been persuaded to conform to an oval shape-ha!

pinning before stitching the horizontal bits

oval removed-exhale

more pins

almost done

nicely trimmed
Back to the loops. After pinning and stitching the lace across the bottom edge, I pulled up a thread on the lace and tightened it to conform to the inner shape of the oval. A little pressing to persuade it to stay that way. Then I took a deep breath and cut out the inner oval, which is replaced with the tucked bit. Much pinning, then stitching to hold it all in place. A little trimming along the edges of the tucked piece. Whew! One down, five to go.
The photos might be out of sequence with the text, but my sewing skills are far superior to my computer skills. And what's not to love about using your imagination anyway.
  Next episode, I will be attaching sleeves to the bodice, which has extra lace now, and entredeaux is involved in that construction phase. Then we will go on to the bottom tier of the skirt. More tucks!!!

2 comments:

Paula Kovarik said...

Really a beautiful effect Marilyn. I love that lace too. Lucky girl going to wear this one.

Trish said...

I really like the tucks and lace motif combination, as well as the variety of shades of off-white! This is so much fun to watch being created! Thanks for the details.